


The perks of idiotic rivarly

by Ayuo



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Keith/Lance (Voltron), Fluff, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Romantic Comedy, Slow Burn, minor Shallura in the background
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-02 22:54:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12735966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ayuo/pseuds/Ayuo
Summary: Starting his first year in his dream school, the Garrison academy, Lance gets lost between the confusing academy halls only to be found by dreamiest of men- Shiro.Immediately, he is falling for him and discovers a fierce love rival- Keith.In this story you will witness two silly boys trying to get the attention of their shared crush, but eventually falling in love with each other.





	1. A fight over a toy in the sandbox

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys!! this is the first time that i have ever written something like that, i hope you will enjoy this silly story and won't be too harsh on my writing style ( i will improve i promise)
> 
> Important notes so you could connect more easily to the story :
> 
> This is an University AU , I know I refer to Garrison as an Academy so I wanted to make that clear 
> 
> This fic features non-binary Pidge , I by no means disrespect the series Canon gender for Pidge , I just feel more comfortable referring to them this way .
> 
> This is a modern AU and the Garrison featuring in the fanfiction is not the same Garrison as in the original series  
> Yes this is a Klance fanfiction , do not get confused because of their Pinning for Shiro

 

" oh my God -- I love him so much !"  
" Lance you just met him."  
" You know nothing about love Pidge !! Don't judge my poor heart..."  
Pidge groaned at their friend's forsaken remark, Lance was a helpless romantic and there was no stopping him when he would find his 'most desired' .  
And how did this ridiculous love story start you may ask? Well...  
It was their first week at the Garrison Academy,Lance and Hunk were friends since childhood and Pidge joined their ranks somewhere around high school and since then they all stuck together somehow.  
The Garrison academy was way bigger than anything the group ever encountered,long wide halls and what seemed like billions of classrooms (according to Lance at least) and conforming to rumors only the best of the best got the chance to attend this school  
And by some miracle this group of three nerds managed to get in.  
Well, Hunk and Pidge weren't surprising actually,it was well known that they were a duo of talented geniuses that Garrison was the perfect place for them to learn and evolve  
in fact ,Pidge Scored the highest grade during the Entrance exam further proving their place in the academy.  
Lance on the other hand, was more than surprised that he managed to get in.

 

Studying at the Garrison academy was a dream of his but he never believed he would actually manage to achieve, luckily for him he barely passed the exam and managed to get in due to his very successful interview.  
The opening ceremony was as enormous as the school itself, a lot impressive scientists and professors showed the year plans and the amount of help the academy offers to it's students in order to achieve their full potential.  
The surprisingly kind looking headmaster Coran gave them a less serious speech  
“I hope you guys have a fun and eventful semester!!” And left the stage in order to hear out Pidge's speech as the highest grade in the entrance exam to represent the first years.  
They even got a short tour around the school grounds(even though for Lance everything literally looked the same) and after they were settled down in their dorms, they began their first semester in the Garrison Academy.  
Immediately overwhelmed by the amount of smart people Lance found himself quite lost among the academy folk and ' quite lost' means Actually , getting lost in one of the billions Academy halls.  
Without Pidge nor Hunk in sight Lance had no idea where he was or how did he get there, clearly the short tour was useless since Lance didn't bother to listen to any of it .  
so he did what he always does , he wandered around in Hope of somebody Actually finding him, but after a longer while than Lance probably wanted to admit , he realized he's super lost and hungry,panic slowly gathering in his neck no matter where he turned it looked like he had been there before, did he pass through that hallway already? He was pretty sure he had already seen that door.... And his heartbeat wasn't helping him in any way beating louder than his own thoughts which slowly became exasperating .  
He felt so small around this cold hallway it seemed like with every step he took the walls drew further apart ,the ceiling jumped a little higher while Lance was slowly but surely drowning in the Gray marble floor with only his heavy breathing and footsteps to accompany him .  
When he reached the same metal cooler for the third time , Lance knew he was doomed  
If beforehand he felt anxious now he was straight up terrified .What a way to go lance , getting lost in your first fucking week in the academy , good luck with those negotiation skills in space .  
He stood still near the cooler , at least he won't be thirsty .  
After a couple of long exhausting minutes Lance groaned loudly , angrily kicking the wall as in realization that the cooler won't actually help him survive.

 

" Do you need help?" A soft calming voice approached him from behind , Lance screeched and turned around with a jolt "are you lost?" The voice belonged to a tall and buffy man whose shirt was clearly too tight on him ( not that Lance was complaining) and besides his shirt he was wearing a kind smile on his face , Lance could practically feel himself tear up  
" Oh god --" literally , he looked like a god  
" Yes !! Thank you !! I am very very very lost " Lance whined almost collapsing on his knees in front of his new found hero  
" A first year huh? don't worry , we've all been there " the man chuckled " I'm Shiro by the way , would that be okay if I lead you to the main hall?" He reached his hand and Lance shook it only after he realized his hand was very sweaty, he felt his cheeks burn but Shiro just kept smiling kindly  
" Yes, that would be a lot of help thank you!" Lance scratched the back of his neck , suddenly realizing he forgot something  
" And I'm Lance! nice to meet you too"  
Shiro led him through the giant halls that Lance was sure looked perfectly identical he wondered if he would ever get used to this place , which he highly doubted.  
This place looked more complicated than all the moving stairs in Hogwarts and Lance was one hundred percent sure he wouldn't come across the Marauder's Map anytime soon.

 

" So......... You're like.... A teacher?" Lance mumbled as he stumbled to follow the men's quick steps, he certainly looked grown up but not a 'physics teacher with a mustache' kind of grown up but more like 'a hot dad' kind of grown up Actually  
" What? No I'm a second year " Shiro huffed a soft laugh "do i look that old?" Only now after a much needed closeup( that wasn't interfaced with an upcoming panic attack ) Lance could notice a subtle pink scar across Shiro's sharp features , it was weird how he managed to look so attractively harsh yet soft at the same time, Lance could feel the butterflies flutter In his stomach  
" Oh no!" He gasped " it's just that you act so calm and collected, the teens I'm used to are more of a mess Actually"  
Shiro hummed with agreement " I kind of get what you mean" all Lance could do is to smile at him stupidly, man, if he were to choose himself a dream husband- no, not a boyfriend, Shiro was Precious enough to marry , he would pick him.  
Suddenly, the halls seemed a lot warmer and friendly than they were several minutes before ,he could actually make out the colorful posters with some silly science puns all over the gray walls as if a reminder that this is a school for total nerds, it's like Shiro casted a some kind of spell that made this place feel lovely ... Perhaps it was his smiles.... His laugh or just his general presence that made everything feel nice.  
By Shiro's side Lance felt safe enough to explore, to genuinely look around himself to find out lots of student projects were displayed behind a glass window in the walls,like loving parents that stuck their children's drawings on the refrigerator  
How didn't he notice this before? This place is great.  
"There we are, the main hall” these words shredded his daze, Lance blinked around the familiar hall sighing in dismay,yep, that was the end of the love ride for him.  
" You know your way from here?" Lance felt sudden warmth spread across his shoulder, only to find out Shiro's strong hand there  
" Yes, thank you very much" Lance's lips curved into a smile  
"you're a lifesaver, really." Shiro huffed softly,his hand leaving Lance's shoulder  
"Anytime pal, I have a class to attend soon so I'll be on my way now, see you around Lance " he flashed him a mesmerizing smile and took off leaving the spot where his hand landed on Lance's shoulder hot for quite some time.

 

* * *

 

 

"OH HUNK MY HERO-- MY MAN ---"  
"You're saying that only because I bought you food" Hunk stared at him poker faced as he chewed his own sandwich  
" WHAT? I WOULD NEVER-" Lance gasped dramatically,putting his hand over his chest " I love you always Hunk!!! Always!!! How DARE you suggest that I love you only because you bought me food?!" Hunk sighed as Lance shoved another spoonful into his mouth  
"So what happened? We turned away from you for one second and you got lost” Pidge said while tapping something on Their laptop, the trio was sitting in the cafeteria which was full of warm buzzing chit chat and dishes clanking, some people enjoying a hot cup of coffee between lessons,some devouring food as if it was the end of the world .

  
just like everything else in this school- the cafeteria was giant and probably the liveliest place in the academy besides the main hall , filled with many square tables and giant windows all over the walls with a little of Orange outlines to add in some color .  
The food was surprisingly okay, even though Lance considers himself a mommy's boy and a very picky eater, he did not find himself puking out his lunch just yet.  
So you could say that his first week at the Garrison academy was pretty great, Hunk even bought him some fries! ( Love you Hunk marry me ) which Lance took his damn time to devour as his comfort food- what? He got lost!! It was very stressful.  
" Well,if you haven't noticed this place is a fucking maze! Everything looks the same, so I got lost” He dropped his face onto his palm while dipping a fry into some ketchup  
"after knowing you for so long, I'm pretty sure you were just going in circles around the same room" Pidge teased,pushing their glasses higher on the bridge of their nose as a worthless attempt to hide their sneer  
"Hey!!! Rude~" Lance grumbled, throwing his fry at their uncontrollable bush of hair  
"Guys don't Fight-Lance.Don't throw your food I paid for it ." Hunk tried to sound intimidating which he failed, instead he was giggling at Pidge's remark from earlier.  
Lance rolled his eyes in disbelief due to his best friend's betrayal and smirked "laugh all you want but I found my way back in the end”  
"Ah yeah - how did you do it in Actually?" Curiosity shone brightly across Hunk's face  
"I'm so glad you asked my dear friend!" Lance stood up dramatically, waving his fry like a conductor in front of an orchestra  
"I have met - an Angel! "  
"an Angel..?" Pidge and Hunk shared equally confused and disappointed looks, they knew very well where this was going.  
" Yes! Just when I was about to drown in despair he appeared before me like the softest ray of sunshine -"  
"Woah, I can't believe you gave him hunk's nickname " Pidge smirked and Lance hushed them with a finger pressed firmly against their lips  
"His name is Shiro.... And he's the most beautiful man I have ever seen ...." Pidge rolled their eyes and Hunk simply sighed  
" From the moment I saw him I realized !! I love him !!"  
" There we go again" Hunk moaned  
"Oh my God- I love him so much !”  
Pidge licked Lance's finger and he jerked it away, wiping it on Pidge's sweater with a disgusted look  
"Lance you just met him"  
"You know nothing about love Pidge !! Don't judge my poor heart..."  
Lance fell back into his chair with a huff “but really guys... He wasn't just hot-- he was nice ! He's a second year though... I hope I'll get a chance to meet him again"  
"Oh I'm sure you will, Don't worry about it dude” Hunk stole of his fries and smiled at him Warmly " you always have things go your way in the end" Lance could feel his eyes water as he grinned at his friends helplessly  
"Yeah , besides the academy's hallways, I don't think they will go your way just yet "  
" Oh shut up Pidge." Lance groaned

 

* * *

 

After that their week wasn't as eventful, they had their usual lessons to attend to, yeah Lance got lost a couple more times but this time he didn't have a beefy angel coming to save him( which was a disappointment) and Lance began to wonder if that school is really that big, what are the odds of him meeting Shiro again? Probably more likely than he thinks.  
With time Lance learned that he wasn't the only poor soul that was captured in Shiro's spell, the Hot second year was popular among all the students , having girls and boys all ages drooling over him.  
But Lance did not feel overwhelmed this time, so what if a lot of people like his crush?  
Lance could easily win any competition so a couple of drooling nerds won't stop him from capturing Shiro's heart.  
"Wait Lance ,you said Shiro right ?"  
" Pidge he's been talking about him all week, how didn't you catch his name by now ?" They were chilling outside of the academy, the three of them laying lazily on the grass their next lessons only in an hour or so.  
" Yeah.. Shiro..." Lance whined, even though he wasn't overwhelmed by Shiro's popularity, he still felt defeated by the magnificent academy walls which blocked his way towards Actually meeting his crush again  
" Well, I just remembered that my brother's roommate is named Shiro, and if I remember correctly he has a scar on his face”  
Lance got up with a jolt shaking Pidge agressively  
" OH MY GOD WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME "  
Pidge groaned loudly , pushing him away from them with many audible screams and sheer force, panting heavily " i-i just told you that I didn't remember!!" They fixed their glasses and Lance could feel his skull burning holes from their glare "and you don't have to shake me so hard! I was about to tell you anyways."  
Lance was vibrating with Excitement that's right!! Pidge's Brother was a second year, how could he forget that? If Shiro is Matt's roommate it means he can meet him soon right--right ???

  
Pidge rolled their eyes to their friend's helpless reaction and exchanged disappointed looks with Hunk  
"I can ask him where he's at right now and maybe we could go ahead and meet your lover" Pidge wiggled their eyebrows while typing something on their phone  
" Pidge --- I Love yo-" Lance leaped to hug them and immediately got blocked by their palm  
" Don't." They stated coldly and Lance whined, curling rejected and heartbroken on the harh grass.  
His heartbreak was stopped however,with a loud ding in Pidge's phone .  
" Oh- it's from Matt" Pidge picked the phone and opened the message  
"What did it say what did it say?!" Lance sat behind them, trying to look over their shoulder to make out the content of the message  
" Lance give them some air, they're going to read the message anyway." Hunk pulled him away gently so Pidge could have their personal space back

 

" He says we can meet him near the second year dorms, Shiro's with him " Pidge pushed their smartphone back into their pocket , standing up and brushing the leftover grass from their pants  
"You coming?"  
Lance practically jumped up from his sitting position, lending Hunk a helping hand as he stumbled to get up after his friends  
"Of course!!! With my stunning looks Shiro will be mine in no time ~" he elbowed Hunk's ribs and they both laughed loudly  
" Go get 'em tiger " Hunk winked at him, receiving yet another elbow right into his ribs .  
They headed towards the second year dorms while Pidge checked their phone occasionally , even with their smug behavior you could easily see that Pidge wasn't used to Garrison's grounds just like Lance was,even though they did not admit that.  
You could recognize Matt from afar thanks to his wild bush of hair similar to Pidge's (also he was jumping and waving from the moment Pidge was in his range of sight ) and he would wear a Brown, clearly oversized hoodies with his shorts only peeking slightly under the brown fabric.  
right next to him stood a familiar figure , Lance immediately grabbed Hunk's arm and shook it Excitedly "THIS IS HIM THIS IS HIM" but unlike Pidge Hunk didn't bulge a bit and he just chuckled softly .  
“Isn't that my favorite Sibling Pidge?!” Matt slapped poor Pidge hard on the back and they winced from the sudden pain “what did I do to be blessed with your visit?"  
“Why are you like this --?!” Pidge groaned as they fought to escape their Brother’s teasing and Matt laughed proudly  
“I am your brother! It is simply my job to annoy you!”  
“I hate you “ Pidge hissed, finally escaping his grip by hiding behind Hunk's back  
“Aw~” Matt smiled proudly, folding his arms around his chest and looking at his now very exasperated sibling.  
“ What's going on Matt?” Shiro came from behind him, his eyes locking on Lance with a sign or recognition  
“Oh! Lance right ? How's school?” He said in a very dad manner  
“School’s great you know ~ stealing all the girls…. Being at the top of my class..” he stood up proudly as if counting his oh-so-realistic achievements  
“And getting lost a bazillion more times“ Hunk teased Making Lance's cheeks flush a little ( which did not help with his glare at Hunk)  
“Woah, are you a first year too?” Shiro's attention was now focused on Hunk, who smiled back at him kindly and reached out a hand in greetings  
“ Yeah, I'm Hunk,Lance's best bud nice to meet ya “ Shiro shook his hand and nodded  
“ And I guess pidget is part of your squad too! “ Matt jumped into the conversation , landing his hand on Shiro's shoulder “get it ? Get it ? It's a mix of Pidge and a midget” he wiggled his eyebrows and Shiro rolled his eyes, letting out a tired sigh.  
Behind them, Lance could make out a slim figure slightly shorter than himself sending them very unsubtle death glares  
The boy frowned his eyebrows so hard Lance wondered if his face was just glued like that  
“ Uh…?” Lance rose an eyebrow to him ,both of them having some kind of confusing silent glare conversation until Shiro turned around and smiled  
“ Oh, this is Keith “ he indicated him to come closer and brushed his hand slightly on his back “he is a friend of mine, excuse him for being grumpy he's always like that near New people”

  
Like ? A cat? Like was that Keith person an actual cat? Because it seemed like he was ready to claw Lance's eyes out at any given moment.  
“hey” he said simply, immediately lowering his glare at the floor, what the hell did the floor do ??  
“Uh… hello..?” Hunk smiled at him weakly trying to be nice even towards the weirdest people, bless Hunk.

“ But man I sure am Glad you found such great friends Pidge , we should totally hang out “ Matt broke the awkward moment when everyone felt like they kind of ran out of things to say “ Shiro and I have a free period tomorrow at Three PM, maybe we could all go out for lunch?” his lips curled into a cheerful smile  
GOD BLESS MATT HOLYSHIT Lance's face lit up with Excitement, eating lunch together with his crush ??? Man this is a perfect opportunity to get along!! To have some bonding - god.  
“Yeah that sounds good to me!! Hunk and I should be free around that time ...Pidge ?”  
Pidge looked up something in their Cell Phone, frowning “hmm…. I might be late , but I can join you guys”  
“That's great!” Shiro beamed at them  
“ Are you guys into spicy food ?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

The next day came by quickly, they all agreed that they will meet up by the academy's entrance to head out to the town and get some Mexican food and Lance was beyond excited, he showered and put some extra effort into his morning routine Making sure he looked flawless nudging Hunk all day about how his hair looked  
“Lance, your hair is literally like a centimeter long, you can't fuck it up” Lance rolled his eyes at that statement, Hunk clearly never goes on dates.  
What did not come by quickly though, was the end of their lessons.  
Every minute felt like hours of exhausting agony just waiting for the Teacher to stop.fucking.talking.  
He and Hunk took physics classes, it was hard and challenging but Lance liked it  
He could practically see the images in his head, understanding how things worked and how they affected everything around them he was fascinated by it even, Hunk was better than him and he was always there to help out Lance in anything  
It's truly great to have a trusty friend like Hunk, he made Lance feel safe and loved  
It was a wonderful feeling.

  
Their physics teacher’s name is Lotor, and even though he's a pretty hot individual it did not stop him from being an utter jerk, always finding a way to add an another quiz or essay to submit while sticking you with the most annoying people  
Well,it's not like his teaching is bad, it's just something about his over all dogmatic demeanor fighting everyone about anything implying that he’s always right no matter what (which is bullshit,Sorry pretty face)  
You wouldn't dare to misbehave during his lessons, especially when you have something after class  
Lotor can and will make you stay over time and miss out on all of your plans, just because he was feeling like it.  
Long story short, Lance tried very hard not to fall under the heavy fire today.  
And luckily for him, he didn't.

  
After being at Lotor’s Mercy for the last two hours they were finally free and heading towards the chemistry lab to meet up with Pidge, Lance stretched letting out a relieved sigh as he felt the pop in his back  
“Dude I'm so glad our precious time with Lotor has ended for today”  
“You tell me, my stomach has been growling for the last 50 minutes, I was terrified he was going to give me a detention because of my rude guts”  
Hunk moved his hand around his tummy in circles, drooling over the thought of some warm and delicious meal.  
When they reached the Lab area, Pidge was already waiting for them with Matt tucked by their side  
“Sup” Lance waved as they approached them  
“How's chem?”  
“The usual you know, chemicals “  
“Funny “ Lance wasn't amused.  
Pidge hummed with a teasing smirk “you know me, your most Hilarious friend”  
“I do not approve of this message” Hunk rose his hand in objection, clearly the title of the most Hilarious friend belongs to him.  
Lance refused to take a part in this affair, simply because he wanted both of his friends to love him which meant:  
'never. In any circumstances , take sides’  
“Anyway , Matt you're Shiro's roommate right?” Lance looked around to check if the coast was clear and then leaned closer “it's just that… I really like him … and I want to impress him, could you tell me what he likes?” Matt was taken aback from Lance's request ,smiling awkwardly sending his sibling a cry for help  
“ Don't expect Matt to know anything, he's the most clueless Creature I ever came across with” Pidge leaned on their Brother clumsily in attempt to place their elbow on his shoulder, almost falling due to their height differences.  
“Whaaat” Lance groaned “and I thought I had the upper hand in this - you know , with you being his roommate and all “  
Matt scratched the back of his neck shifting his weight from leg to leg uncomfortably  
“Sorry to disappoint dude, I am kind of an airhead… but! Maybe you should ask Keith ?”  
“Keith?” Lance frowned at the name, remembering the weird mullet guy from their yesterday's encounter  
“Yeah! He and Shiro are childhood friends, and he always seems to be around him so I'm sure he knows him well“  
Childhood friends? Really? Shiro looked like the type to get along with all kinds of people, but somehow Lance didn't expect him to be so close to some emo guy.  
“Yeah maybe you're right, do you have any idea where he might be right now?”  
Matt bit his lip and hummed as if he was recalling something from his memory  
“... nope” he popped the 'p’ at the end “no idea“  
Lance let out a grunt, guess he'll have to talk to him when they go out to eat.

 

So they head out together towards the Academy’s entrance, Shiro and Keith already waiting for them  
Matt jumped forward leaping onto Shiro's arms “ah Shiro….. I haven't seen you since the lesson….i missed you so much!!” Shiro only laughed at that, Lance noticed Keith's another very unsubtle glare as if he ran through a thousand different scenarios involving Matt's death.  
“I missed you too Matt” Shiro went along with him talking in an overly dramatic tone similar to Matt's.  
“So everyone's here? I think we should head out” Hunk suggested, receiving a mutual agreement from the party  
Therefore they went, even though they met Shiro only yesterday, Pidge and Hunk already got along with him very well  
Chatting about the professors and Pidge's speech (he could practically see Pidge cringing) and while Shiro and everyone else were occupied by the flowing conversation Lance approached Keith who was walking behind them, tugging at his sleeve slightly  
“Uh.. h-hey man” he tried to sound friendly, only to be greeted by a cold glare  
“Listen uh… I won't bother you much I just have a question” Lance smiled weakly at him  
“ Go on” Keith sighed , his hands sliding into his pockets  
“you see … I like Shiro” Lance whispered so the topic of their conversion won't hear him  
Keith's eyebrows shot upwards and immediately curled into a frown  
“Matt told me you know him well so I wanted to ask if you could tell me what he-”  
“No.”  
“Excuse me ?”  
Keith's glare at him could kill, he gritted his teeth angrily and whispered  
“Give it up. You have no fucking chance.”  
Lance shot him a confused look, feeling himself getting annoyed from the Mullet’s behavior  
“And why's that exactly??”  
“Because- well-” Keith stuttered,was he blushing??  
“ Shiro is my boyfriend” he stated , a little bit uncertainly.

 

…

 

What.

 

#### W H A T ?!?

 

Lance,Thunderstruck, let his walking pace get a little lower and Keith with a sassy flip of his stupid hair, went ahead.

 

Okay.  
From this situation Lance learned two things:

  
1.Shiro's into dudes , which is fine , which is great actually Holy fuck

2\. Shiro was dating Keith ?????? That could explain all his glares but what the actual fuck ??

 

They just looked like such an unlikely couple? Fuck unlikely - they did not look like a couple at all!! Was it a secret? Was Lance the only one knowing this ?? He was so confused.  
So he stared at everyone's backs from behind, wearing the stupidest face his eyes moving from Keith to Shiro calculating the situation.  
While Lance tried to make out everything in his head, they already arrived to the Mexican restaurant and sat down deciding on their order with Lance wearing the same confused expression from before, staring at Keith and then at Shiro, and then at Keith again  
The restaurant was painted with vibrant colors, having orange walls and extremely bright multi colored lamps, dark wooden tables,all kinds of posters and stickers found their way on the wall behind the counter with cliche pop music in the background  
This place was rather busy but they managed to find a good spot in the corner, sitting down on a vibrant red cushion that was slightly torn from all the different people who sat there before them  
Lance stared at the menu, it's color similar to the restaurant walls with bold black letters spelling all kinds of meals  
“I'm starving~~” Hunk practically jumped from Excitement, his eyes running all over the menu  
“Don't worry, this place is super great you won't be disappointed!” Matt smirked smugly at him  
“Oh I'm sure he won't, Hunk will eat anyone and anything” Pidge could feel Hunk's glare at them that broke into a laugh immediately, filling their table with lively laughter.  
“Oh shut it Pidge”

 

After a short while they all placed their orders (Hunk ordered like 4 tacos,what a man ) and Lance discovered Keith hated avocados ??? If he was sceptic about their relationship before now Lance was straight up worried about Shiro like, who the hell dates someone who does not enjoy the fruit of god??  
He also learned that Keith is very awkward in general, mostly being quiet and looking very uncomfortable blowing his bangs away from his eyes for every five seconds  
Like, Lance could understand Shiro - Keith was really attractive, Lance failed to see any depth in him whatsoever but at least he looked pretty and maybe that's all what matters to Shiro  
There was something in him however, that deeply annoyed Lance, he did not find a reason yet but he disliked him, maybe because he stole his crush… or his face just looks very punchable… he will decide why someday.  
For now he could satisfy his salt by throwing Keith shady looks every once in awhile, you know, to keep the table on its toes and all.

Meanwhile Hunk and Matt had a taco eating competition, shoving them aggressively down their throats while everyone around them cheered, even Keith got into it- placing a bet on Matt.  
Shiro was dead sure Hunk is going to win, arguing with Keith aggressively about the art of jamming tacos in your face, Lance just leaned into his hand and laughed at them while deep inside he truly believed that Hunk would win.  
The results were surprising:  
Matt gave up on his fifth taco and melted down on the table whining miserably while Hunk fought hard to swallow his seventh one, giving in and sprinting towards the bathroom in defeat.  
Pidge ate all the remaining tacos which made them the unexpected winner

 

You could say their lunch was great.

 

After paying the bills and saying a few goodbyes, the group broke down and everyone headed their way  
Keith and Shiro went somewhere down the street 'to do some business’ ( smooch)  
And Hunk had to jump to visit his friend Shay in order to pick up some parts for his next project  
Leaving a group of three- Lance, Matt and Pidge who had nothing else to do so they all headed back to the Academy.  
On their way back sudden realization stroke Lance, His crush already dated somebody  
Which didn't really hurt him but he couldn't help but to feel disappointed,he pushed his hands deep inside his pockets and let out a deep sigh  
“By the way Lance, you didn't look like yourself back there…. You ok?” Pidge was the one to break the silence, them and their Brother staring at Lance curiously  
“Ah…” Lance dropped his gaze,now blankly staring at the pavement  
“Shiro has a boyfriend…” he said a bit too bitterly than he intended  
“What?” Matt's eyes widen “no he doesn't” didn't he know?? Could that be that Shiro didn't tell his own roommate about it ?  
“But Keith told me he's his boyfriend!” Lance rose his hands defensively and Matt bursted out laughing  
“Keith ?? Oh no, Shiro is as single as a Pringle “ Lance stared at Matt blankly, realization suddenly hitting him  
Pidge pointed their finger at their Brother to correct him “Actually Pringles are constantly cuddling-”  
“WAIT A MINUTE!!” in seconds,Matt was grabbed by his shoulders “YOU MEAN HE LIED TO ME?!”  
“Uh…yeah…?” Matt smiled weakly, suddenly Wondering if he did the right thing  
Lance squeezed Matt's shoulders painfully “Matt.phone.” it wasn't a request, that was an order.  
Matt clumsily pulled out his phone out of his pocket while almost dropping it a couple of times  
Lance grabbed the phone and typed something in it aggressively, pulling it to his ear  
They went silent, waiting with ancipation of what's about to come  
Someone picked the phone from the other side, Lance took a deep breath-  
“YOU LYING BASTARD” he straight up YELLED  
Keith moved his phone with a jump from the sudden loud noise, he stared at his screen completely baffled, the person screaming was definitely not Matt  
“Uh… hello…?” He asked with an uncertain voice  
“YOU'RE NOT HIS BOYFRIEND YOU LYING FUCK “  
Oh.  
Now he knew who that is.  
He cringed at the loud noise once again and shushed him through the cell phone  
“What-? Shut up for a second “ he turned around to check for Shiro, who now was busy talking to some random woman  
He carefully snuck out and closed the door,his phone call now receiving his full attention as he was safely locked inside of one of the bathroom stalls.  
“What do you want?” He hissed  
“TO KNOW WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM” Lance yelled from the other side of the line  
“AAAH STOP YELLING I CAN HEAR YOU CLEARLY ENOUGH” Keith took a deep breath, pressing his fingers at his temple  
“You're not Shiro's Boyfriend.” Lance said finally, without blowing Keith's ears up

-” ah,that”

“ What do you mean Ah that?! What's your problem??? I like Shiro!! I thought I had no chance with him !”

-” and you still don't.”

“ And why exactly is that???”

-” if anyone deserves to date Shiro, that would be me, I've known him for 12 years and-”

“ WELL I WOULDN'T BE SO PROUD OF 12 YEARS OF BEING STUCK IN THE FUCKING FRIENDZONE”

-” HUH?!”

“ You heard me!!!”

-” oh my God you're so fucking lame “

“ I'm lame ?? Your haircut was hot it like- 2007!!! Welcome to the 21th century you stupid mullet.”

-” wha- my haircut is great !!”

“ Yeah sure, just like the My chemical romance album you listen to unironicly sobbing ‘ fucking normies’ at everyone”

-” MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE IS A GREAT BAND!! YOU CLEARLY HAVE NO TASTE IN MUSIC IF TALK LIKE THAT!!”

“ Yeah sure, be ready to hear their top songs when Shiro will dump your emo ass over me “

-” is- is that a threat?”

“ Yeah bitch. It's on.”

Lance blurted and hang up, leaving Pidge and Matt speechless  
“ I'll show that little prick how it's done.” He said proudly, folding his arms around his chest and letting out a pissed huff  
“Eh… explanation..?” Matt mumbled as he took his phone back, Keith's contact info still shining on the screen.  
Lance looked him dead in the eye and Stated

“ from today forward ,Keith is my ultimate love rival.”


	2. knowing your enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance had many thoughts about how to defeat Keith in his head, well, not that many now that his 'prove Keith's hair is stupid’ plan failed, but! He could find many other things Keith Kogane was bad at.  
> So he decided to make a list

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! if you enjoyed the first chapter and tagged along- thank you! that means a lot to me  
> i had a lot of fun writing this chapter, Lotor is the best character confirmed
> 
> i hope you have fun reading this!

 

It was only seven in the morning but Hunk was already tired of sighing,you see, Lance has woken him up in order to discuss his “genius plan” in order to defeat his ultimate rival- Keith.

“ You don't get it Hunk” Lance sat on his bed, hugging his pillow and pouting

“Keith is now my enemy! And I have to find a way to defeat him in this love war-”

“Love war” Hunk scoffed

“ Yes! Love war!” Lance exclaimed, his pillow flying in Hunk's direction and hitting him in the face

“I have to find a way to show Shiro that i- Lance Mcclain, is better than him in any way” Hunk removed the soft pillow from his face and hummed as a sign that he was listening

“And in order to do that, I have to find things Keith is bad at.” Lance continued

Hunk hummed again, neither of them knew Keith, they met him only a couple of days ago and since his so-told lie about being Shiro's boyfriend Lance wouldn't shut up about him.

“So what do you think Keith is bad at?” Hunk looked up at his now standing friend

“Hmm I don't know, I say we will go with something easy first like- I bet his hair is stupid.” Lance placed his hands on his hips proudly

“Yes! That's the plan, our first stage is to prove Shiro Keith's mullet is stupid.” He grinned into the distance, clearly proud of his evil plan

“Or… we could ask Pidge to search his Facebook page…? There's probably something embarrassing in there!” Hunk suggested, pointing one finger into the air

Lance looked at him and gasped “ Hunk!! You are a genius! We could find some awkward pictures of him and THEN prove that his hair is stupid!”

Not what Hunk meant, but good enough.

“Let's go buddy! off to kick Keith's ass!”  Lance cheered and opened the door to leave their room, his eyes drifting into a figure leaving the room right next to them

Keith. Keith!! That jerk was standing right fucking there!!

“ W-what are you doing here?!” Lance yelped, moving into a defensive pose he saw in some video game

Keith's eyebrows furrowed “I...live here..?” His hair was tied up in a low ponytail and he was wearing an awful amount of black with some red jacket tied around his waist,His mouth went dry.

Lance took a couple of seconds to analyze him and immediately jumped back into his room closing the door with a loud bang, breathing heavily.

“Dude what-” Hunk looked at him with visible concern,Lance turned around to face him, his cheeks red from anger and teeth gritted

“Change of plans, his hair is perfect” he muttered, suddenly going silent again for a couple more seconds before he let out a frustrated huff

 

“Fuck.”

 

“Keith lives right next to us!!” Lance pulled his own hair leaning onto the cold door dramatically.

“Uh, yeah?” Hunk looked confused,that wasn't something new

“What do you mean uh yeah?? You knew???” Lance was getting more confused with every passing second

“Yeah…??? You mean you didn't?” Hunk seemed so calm about this!! So calm!!

How couldn't he understand? Keith was Lance's rival!!

“You're just always late for class, probably you didn't notice but yeah, Keith is kinda our neighbor” Hunk went on casually like this wasn't a big deal at all.

Lance groaned, how didn't he notice?maybe,just maybe he was too busy pinning for Shiro but… but not so much!! He could notice his surroundings right?right??

He opened the door slightly and peeked outside, sighing with relief to realize that Keith is long gone

“Okay,the coast is clear, we can go” he waved Hunk to come over, hearing Hunk groan “we could go even with him there you know, he won't bite us or anything”

Lance furrowed his Brows at the empty hall in suspicion, as if Keith was about to jump at him from the corner at any given moment,after confirming that he was actually gone Lance opened the door fully

“You can never know, we cannot trust the enemy Hunk.”

 

                                                                                             

* * *

 

 

Lance had many thoughts about how to defeat Keith in his head, well, not that many now that his 'prove Keith's hair is stupid’ plan failed, but! He could find many other things Keith Kogane was bad at.

So he decided to make a list:

 

**Proving Keith Kogane is a loser**

**1. ~~his hair is stupid~~ \- ** fail (fuck his hair and his ponytail)

**2.he’s probably shorter than me**

**3.he’s weaker than me**

**4.i am way smarter**

**5.he probably looks stupid when he eats**

**6.he’s stupid**

 

Yeah, that wasn't much but that was a starter! Lance will go through that list and prove Shiro Keith is a total loser, and Lance was the real MVP.

“What are you writing?” Lance could feel Pidge's weight on his shoulder,their face placed right on it, peeking at whatever Lance was doing

“I'm writing a list of things that Keith is bad at”  Lance explained proudly, lifting the note so his friend could see, they were during their  lunch break right now, Pidge finished eating and got bored while Hunk went to get a second.

“How is being shorter than you is something to be bad at…?” Pidge grabbed the note, now examining it more carefully

“U-uh… well… it's compared to me- duh, I have to prove Shiro he's a weirdo”

Pidge hummed at Lance's explanation,eyes running trough his awful handwriting

“ Well, you can scratch out the 'i am way smarter’  one, Keith is my partner in Chemistry lab and he's definitely not stupid”

Lance groaned, grabbing his note back and scratching out the numbers 4 and 6 from his note.

“Keith is our neighbor….your chem partner… is there's anything else I don't know about our genius Keith?” Lance muttered angrily and Hunk came back with another Plate full of okay-ish food.

“ Well.. Actually, I'm coming over to his Room Today, we have an assignment to do together” Pidge's weight left his shoulder, sending a cold breeze on his nape

“WHAT” Lance shot them a stunned look

“ And you didn't tell me?!”

“ I'm telling you now ain't I?" Pidge flopped  down into a chair right next to him, folding their hands behind their neck

“When?”

“Around six pm”

“ Good, we're coming” Lance and Hunk exchanged looks, Lance practically telling him that he has no choice but to come

“WHAT” Pidge's  hands landed on the wooden table with a loud boom

“ No you're not! You're going to totally blow off my assignment!”

“Pidge!! You're entering the enemy’s territory! There's no way we can let you go alone!”

“Wha- HUNK! TELL HIM!” Pidge whined, Hunk raising his hands in defeat

“You know I can't change his mind,sorry”

Pidge buried their face in their hands, letting out a frustrated groan

“Uughhh the assignment is due tomorrow!!”

“Don't worry Pidge.” Lance patted their back smirking smugly

“We will protect you from the evil Keith, right Hunk?”  Hunk nodded with a weak smile, clearly tired from his bickering friends

“Don't worry Pidge, I will protect you from the evil Lance”

“Hey!”

“Thanks Hunk… you're a lifesaver…” Pidge mumbled from under their hands, now fully melting on the table

“Hey!!!” Lance repeated audibly, playfully slapping Pidge on the back

“ You guys will thank me for this.”

 

Hence the long awaited hour arrived, Pidge sighing as they saw both of their friends waiting for them right next to Keith’s room, they knew there was no way out of this now.

“if I'm failing chem because of you guys, consider yourself deleted from my life” they muttered in a low voice, taking a deep breath and knocking on the gray door

Seconds passed before it opened before them, showing Keith from the other side

“Hey Pidge…?” His eyes trailed around them, turning his attention to the now awkward and half-heartedly regretting Lance and Hunk

“What..are they doing here..?” His voice broke a bit at the end of the sentence,he coughed uncomfortably

“Er… well you see uuuuuuuuuhhhhh” Pidge stepped on Lance's feet Making him yelp in pain, silently showing their anger at him for putting them into an uncomfortable situation, Keith looked more concerned than ever

“Well you see..” they kept their weight on Lance's foot, visibly hurting him

“I'm a bit nervous going into a boys room alone so..” they tensed up from the uncontrollable cringe they were getting, Pidge hated lying, the truth is they didn't care at all,they would do the assignment in the trash if they had to.

Lance could already feel himself getting strangled after that.

Keith's eyes widen and a wild flush appeared on his pale cheeks

“Oh! I'm Sorry, I didn't know-”

Pidge waved him off in a calming gesture “it's cool, I wouldn't let you inside my room anyway so that's for the best, do you mind these guys tagging along?” Their smile was sweet, clearly forced, but at least they tried.

Keith ran his hand through his hair revealing a pale forehead for a mere second and sighed

“ Yeah,sure come in”

Keith's room was in the perfect balance of being neither clean or super messy, in other words: he hid his mess well, shoving clothes into a slightly open closet (leaving evidence for Lance's research of course) and just arranging the things so the place looked clean, Keith's room was smaller than Lance's room with Hunk, Lance knew the Academy provided singular rooms for those who did not was to end up with a stranger, Pidge's room was singular for example

Since Lance and Hunk did live together, their room contained two beds and closets,all in a very nice quality Actually, Hunk and Lance decorated it with a bunch of posters and silly stickers,hoping the won't get into too much trouble when they won't manage to scrape them off.

Keith's room was pretty basic, a small bed with red covers,a closet and a computer table tucked near the wall, he had no stickers or posters whatsoever, implying he was plain and boring ( Lance mentally marked it in his list so he could have the upper hand on him with this later)

“you guys can sit down wherever you want, I don't really mind” Keith said and they did as they told

“I.. I have to go to the toilet for a sec,I'll be right back” Keith mumbled a little shyly, clearly not used to having guests in his room.

As the bathroom door closet and the click of the lock echoed around the little room,Lance jumped from the bed and went over to his computer table

“Look! His computer!” He pointed at a red laptop that was lying peacefully on Keith's table.

“We should like- hack into it while he's not here! I bet he watches weird porn” Lance whispered wildly at them, a mischievous smile shining brightly on his face

Pidge stared at him only for a mere second before they followed his steps and opened the laptop, already typing various passwords in order to pass the home screen.

“W-wait guys-- what are you doing?!” Hunk hissed at them, glancing at the bathroom's door every five seconds

“He's right there!!! Also.. isn't that like..illegal..?” Hunk bit his nails in worry, this was such a bad idea

“Oh come on Hunk” Hunk yelped as Lance's hand landed heavily on his shoulder

“If I ever go to jail…i’m taking you guys with me.” Hunk's anxiety grew bigger and Lance clearly wasn't helping

“ so please guard the bathroom door and tell us when he's out.” Lance's smile couldn't go wider, his eyes filled with Excitement while Hunk was sure he was about to faint.

“I'm in” Pidge said in a deep voice and within seconds Lance was already by their side, practically jumping in his spot

“Check his internet history!!” He whispered into Pidge's ear and they hummed, already checking that, their Expression suddenly goes blank.

“What is it?? What is it?? Is he into some horse shit??” Lance's voice buzzed into their ears and they turned around slowly, staring at him dead in the eye

“Uh.. there's only pictures of knives here” they stated blankly, unsure of how to feel

Lance frowned, muttering in a hushed voice “is he… a serial killer... ?” He laughed at his own question briefly, only now noticing his knees are shaking

Pidge shook their head and turned back to the computer to show Lance a bunch of pictures of different pocket knives

“I don't think so…” they scrolled down only to see MORE knives

“ I think he just really likes knives”

Lance scoffed, who has their whole internet history full of KNIVES??

“ What are you guys doing?” Lance and Pidge froze in place as they heard KEITH'S voice from behind them.

Lance shot Hunk an angry glance, but his traitor of a friend was already off to puke in the bathroom.

“Eh-” both of the new found hackers swallowed, turning around stiffly to face Keith

”youleftthecomputeropensowegotcurious” Pidge puked out words so quickly Lance could barely understand them but he nodded and smiled awkwardly anyways, just to show some kind of support to his babbling friend.

“Oh I did?” Keith looked very confused,but probably decided that the best course of action is to go along with them.

“W-what's your deal with knives anyway huh???” Lance stepped close to him,his now pointing finger barely touching Keith's nose, Keith furrowed his eyebrows, taking a step back before Lance completely invaded his personal space

“I collect knives” he rose his hands in defense “I can show you guys if you like..?”

Lance stared him down suspiciously, not moving an inch

“a knife collection!?” Lance felt sudden pain in his ribs, only to find out Pidge pushed him aside so they could talk to Keith

“ That's so cool! I'd like to see!” Their eyes were practically sparkling, what are you doing Pidge?? You're friendly with the enemy!!

A subtle flush found it's way on Keith's cheeks, he smiled weakly and nodded

“okay” he opened his closet and pulled out a small suitcase, placing it on the table carefully, as the suitcase was open before them Pidge let out a loud 'ooooh’,their mouth wide open from the sight

A bunch of little knives were all tucked safely in there, each and every one of them looked totally different and dangerously sharp.

“ Is this one holographic??” Pidge pointed at a knife in the middle

“ Yeah” Keith smiled at them fondly, untucking the color shifting knife from it's belt

“It's one of my favorites, it's also the most noticeable one I guess” he played with the knife carefully in his hands, moving it between his fingers as if it wasn't a sharp blade, Lance could feel his mouth go dry.

“That's so freaking cool!!” Pidge gasped, approaching Keith to get a better look

“They're not for cooking are they..?” Hunk mumbled from behind them, Lance was so invested in his growing fear from Keith with a knife that he didn't notice his friend’s return from the toilet

Keith chuckled “of course not”  suddenly changing his grip and twirling the knife freely in his hand, Making Lance yelp and cling into Hunk so he could feel safe.

Keith showcased some more knife tricks, Making the holographic knife shine in all the different shades of the rainbow as he was flipping it in the air

Pidge nudged him to show off some more knives, claiming the green blade with a beautifully carved handle their favorite

Lance did not dare to admit that he also found himself a favorite knife, there was an icy blue one with a white Crystal in its handle, it was pretty, but Lance didn't want to admit that any part of Keith is pretty, even if it's his fucking gorgeous knives.

 

At some point they realized that it has gotten awfully late and Pidge pushed Lance and Hunk out of Keith's room angrily

“That's it!! You guys go home! We have an assignment to finish!”

“Fine fine~” Lance moaned “no need to be so angry”

“Lance, I'll fuck you up.” They muttered “I told you this would happen! Aaaah I'm going to be dead tired tomorrow” they massaged their temple, breathing heavily

“It's not my fault you got so excited from knives” Lance said in a high pitched tone, waving his hands in defense

“Lance, I'll fuck you up” they repeated and stomped back into Keith's room, closing the door behind them

“Guess we won't get seeing Pidge tomorrow after chem, if we want to Live of course” Hunk sighed

“Nah we're fine, they're gonna get the highest score again, no matter how much they will bicker before they get it” Lance hummed and opened their own door, entering the room and flopping on the bed lazily

“that’s it, I decided” he stated, already removing his shoes and slipping into the covers

 

“ I will defeat Keith tommorow.”

 

                                                                                                     

* * *

 

During the following day, Lance made a new list:

 

**Proving Keith Kogane is a loser #2**

**1.showing Shiro that I am way more beautiful**

**2.showing Shiro that Keith is awkward**

**3.piss him off in front of Shiro**

**4.proving that he's an actual serial killer(?)** Proof: knives

 

Lance examined his note, it was really hard to write stuff about someone you had only few interactions with, he tapped his pencil on his bottom lip lightly, leaning into his chair staring blankly at the ceiling

“What else can I prove about him? Maybe I should get to know him better..? To find out his weakness you know”

They were sitting in the cafeteria as usual, one particular table in the corner of the busy room, right next to a big window, became sort of their hangout spot, they would spend time there during lunch time and free periods, usually just to chill or to use the table without having to be silent ( like they would have to in the library)

Pidge and Hunk were sitting on some word game on the phone ( Lance wasn't too interested,he had a list to make) both frowning at the screen with some annoying music playing in the background

He could hear them mutter all kinds of word variations between each other, writing them down and trying them out quickly, it was some kind of a puzzle,you had to create different variations of words with only a couple of letters given you, they seemed too stressed out about a silly game, but they told him it was because of the timer.

He heard the phone beep implying the timer was off, Pidge pulled their scalp and groaned

“ So close!”  Hunk nodded and sighed helplessly, turning his attention to Lance

“ Are you sure this is a note to defeat Keith? Cuz it seems like you're trying to date him and not Shiro.”

Lance gasped, placing his hand on his chest and moved back dramatically, trying extremely hard to show his utter disgust

“What?! Ew! I would never! Why would I fall for a shitty twink when I have some hot dad material right under my nose?! I'm offended”

“Lance, your issues are showing”

“Shut up Pidge.”

They rolled their eyes, clearly amused from the whole situation

“I'm just saying bro, Keith is everything you've been talking about lately” Hunk's knowing stare was burning deep into his skull, only Making Lance scowl in distress

“I don't like him! He's my rival! Of course I would always talk about my-”

“Oh, there he is” Pidge cut him off, grabbing him by his cheeks and turning his gaze around, Shiro was standing near the coffee machine, slowly putting in some coins ( or maybe just because from the moment Lance saw him everything moved in slow motion, you know, you've seen movies)

Right next to him stood the subject of their conversation, His greasy mullet highlighting him from the crowd.

Butterflies danced inside of Lance's stomach and suddenly everything seemed so light- there's no doubt he liked shiro, that's right, when he saw Keith those wonderful butterflies would straight up die, rotting inside of him making everything look disgusting.

 

Him, liking Keith? Hunk clearly did not know what he was talking about.

 

“You better stop drooling and just call him over you know" Hunk shoved his shoulder lightly, just to wake him up from his daze

“Wha- yeah, you're right” Lance mumbled, and before he managed to do anything Pidge was already on their toes, waving happily and calling the pair over

Shortly after that Shiro seemed to notice Pidge's call, waving back to them and telling something to Keith, he turned around and his gaze followed Shiro's hand which was pointing in their direction and nodded.

Suddenly walking over to them

“ Hey guys”  he rose one hand in greeting, Pidge saluting him in return

“Shiro said he will come over soon, he wants to buy a meal”  he said, pulling one of the empty chairs in order to sit down.

Lance growled at him, it was one chair out of an empty pair, which meant he wanted to sit next to Shiro , na ah.

 

That's not happening.

 

With a swipe of his long leg, Lance pushed Keith's chair away aggressively, the chair turned over and hit the floor with a loud thud, echoing across the cafeteria, making it silent for a mere second before everyone around them returned to their previous conversations.

“Dude- what the fuck?” he exhaled, glaring Lance down with a startled Expression

“You can't sit with us.” Lance Stated bluntly,his hands crossing over his chest

“ And why's that?” Keith frowned, his gaze was so intense Lance wondered if he had one of his knives at hand, ready to slice Lance's throat at any given moment.

“ Because you're my Rival of course. And you are not sitting next to Shiro.” Lance went on with the same tone, but it seemed like it made sense to himself

“Rival? What?” Keith laughed “ are you shitting me? You're no rival of mine.”

“What?!” Lance got up, slamming his hands on the table

“Of course you are!! I'm going to date Shiro!”

Keith eyes widened with realization “oh, you're still going with that?”

Lance opened his mouth in shock, what does he mean by that??? Lance was so obsessed with him during the past week- thinking about plans to defeat him- fucking writing notes!!

While Keith didn't even aknowledge him as his rival…?

If Shiro made him feel light and dizzy, Keith made Lance feel like utter shit.

“You didn't take me seriously..?” Lance mumbled

“ Of course I didn't, there's no one who knows Shiro better than me, it's a lost cause, idiot.” Keith leaned on his hip, placing one hand on it briefly

“You don't know that!”  

“Are- are you dumb?” Keith looked genuinely confused, his voice implying it was a serious question

Lance bit his lower lip, feeling his face heat up from his uprising anger

He couldn't believe it!!! Keith is so stupid!! God!

 

“Is everything okay..?” Shiro's concerned voice broke his train of thought, Lance felt his face change into a different kind of heat-shame.

Both of them were staring at him blankly, whatever conversation they were having was clearly cut off by Shiro's arrival, how long has he been there?

Keith opened his mouth to say something, closing it shortly afterwards, his cheeks flushing as he dropped his gaze down

“It's fine” he mumbled, picking up his chair

Shiro gave him a long concerned look before he turned around to face the rest of them

“You sure..?”

“Yeah definitely-” Hunk laughed weakly, marking him not to worry about it.

And so, they all sat down, heavy silence falling across their table.

There was a fling of unsolved tension flying in the air, Lance glaring at Keith angrily and his glare rightfully returned by his (one sided) rival.

Keith did not take him seriously, it frustrated Lance so much he wanted to grab him by his stupid collar and yell at him,or maybe punch him in the face, or to shave his stupid mullet.

Lance hasn't decided yet.

Why? Why wouldn't he take him seriously? It's not like Lance was unattractive, there were millions of things Lance was good at, yeah he wouldn't stand out too much in the crowd and his grades or achievements weren't impressive, He had his good sides and he could definitely date his crush if he wanted to, and he wanted to.

 

Lance is average, he knows that.

Years of low self-esteem hidden behind flashy actions are solid proof for that

And he did not need Keith to remind him about his issues and stereotypical personality, Lance knew perfectly well that of he was a character on a famous TV show, he would be the comic relief.

But there's something about Keith's behavior that deeply angered Lance, he doesn't want for him to think that way, he wants to show him his worth.

Doesn't acknowledge him as a reasonable threat? Fine, then he will prove that he is one.

It's on Kogane.

 

Pidge was the one to break the silence, starting small talk with the oblivious Shiro

“So.. how's class?” They leaned  onto the table, their chin resting on their folded arms

“Class is great, I study engineering with Matt but I think my literature class is way more enjoyable” Shiro's smile was soft and delicate, it was like he made sure to give everyone the same amount of that smile-so no one will miss out

“Literature…?” Lance murmured, looking through heavy eyelids, Keith wanted serious competition? Oh boy he's about to get one

“That's so impressive” he slid his hand and placed it on Shiro's lightly, his fingers curling in a sensual manner

Lance wasn't really impressed, it was well known that the academy supported all kinds of courses, implying that art was just as important as science which Lance deeply respected.

But seeing Keith twitch in the corner of his eye was so fucking worth it, Lance could feel his lips curl into a smile

“What kind of things do you study there?” He moved in closer to Shiro, as if he was really interested in the conversation

But Shiro didn't bulge, he was wearing his famous stunning smile, probably implying Lance was just giving him some extra friendly pats.

“ Well.. we study all kinds of poems I guess..? I'm not so well with explaining stuff, I bet my classmate Allura could explain it to you better” Shiro scratched the back of his neck shyly,his cheeks clearly colored pink

Lance sliding into his personal space was working, suck it Keith.

“Poems?” Lance gasped and leaned into Shiro's shoulder

“That's so romantic~”

He could see Pidge roll their eyes and Hunk simply face palmed, these two knew him very well to know that this is an attempt of flirting, so they simply went back into their puzzle game, probably ready for this to take some time

Before Shiro managed to answer, Keith's annoyed and unwelcomed voice cut it

“What's romantic about it? Massive character death?” Lance rose an eyebrow at him, noticing how pissed he looked, he hands folded over his chest grumpily like he was a little child who didn't get his candy

And Shiro is a great candy, Lance is not going to share.

 

“ Well, there's romance in it too of course” Shiro's hand found it's way scratching his neck again, Keith's gaze locked on Lance, his lips twisting into a childish pout, Lance held the urge to just stick his tongue out, saying: I won daddy's attention,loser.

But instead of doing that, he simply curled up to Shiro, smirking in Keith's direction

But Keith's tolerance didn't last long, he moved his chair a little bit too aggressively, flopping back into it right next to Shiro, trapping him between himself and Lance, completely oblivious to their intense glares at each other.

Lance's left eye twitched as he noticed Keith's hand resting casually on Shiro's thigh, he moved his awful mullet behind his ear and leaned closer

“Shiro~ feed me~” he whined, Shiro let out a huffed chuckle

“ What are you? A child?” His hand was  messing up the already messy mullet, through his gritted teeth,Lance noticed the pink on Keith's cheeks, that fucking jerk.

“ You always fed me when we were little! Come on~ for the nostalgia” he jerked his head away from Shiro's playful hand

“Fine” Shiro sighed, he seemed very awed from Keith's sudden clinginess, but as he was about to reach for his spoon, loading it with some mash, Lance grabbed the spoon and sing sang with an awfully tense voice

“Say.ah.”

“Ah- wait a minute-UGH” before Keith had a chance to understand what was going on, he was already choking on a spoonful of mashed potatoes shoved in his mouth by no other than the very bitter Lance McClain.

“What the fuck?!” Keith coughed, eyes filling up with tears

“Keith, language.” Shiro handed him a cup of water

“Yeah Keith, don't be rude” Lance snickered, hiding from Keith's glare behind Shiro

“Are you kidding me??” Keith exhaled, his eyes searching for Shiro in distress

“ I could've died!”

“but you didn't! You're still here are you? Even though at first you do look like a corpse, but I guess that's how you always look” Lance mocked, clearly using his bara Barrier well

“Lance!” Hunk broke in this time, even though you couldn't ignore the hint of amusement in his tone, Pidge was  cracking up besides him, their game long forgotten.

“ Don't be too worried Shiro, Lance is always an idiot”  Pidge wiped their wet eyes still half laughing, Shiro sighed with defeat

“An asshole”  Keith's glass slammed against the wooden cafeteria table, his other hand pointing at Pidge's direction, correcting their previous statement

“Hey!” Lance barked, his long hand smacking Keith's nape making Keith hiss and grab him by his collar pulling him closer

“ LISTEN YOU LITTLE-”

“Children! No violence!”

“Yeah boys!! Listen to your dad-oh.” Pidge blurted out before they noticed that it wasn't Shiro who tried to calm them down, there was no worse outcome- it was Lotor.

Pidge went white, their lips pressed into a firm line similar to everyone else in the table who froze in place

Lotor's hair was put up in a high ponytail, his white hair contrasting beautifully against his dark skin, he rose one brow at them

“ I won't question your issues Holt, but I do suggest you to call your father if you miss him so much.” His voice was deep and stern, Pidge dropped their gaze as if the table will swallow them up and hide them from Lotor's unforgiving gaze

“you seem like a very lively table” he went on, his gaze moving around the group and locking on Keith, who was still holding Lance by his collar

“You know, obnoxiously loud... throwing chairs around..” his gaze now locked on Lance, who felt his stomach do a flip

“Do you enjoy throwing chairs McClain?”

“O-of course not... professor..” Lance's voice broke a little, he didn't believe he could sound so whiny

“Is that so..?” Lance felt like an open book in front of him, like with a single glance Lotor could see that one time he wet his bed in sixth grade and that was terrifying.

“Then why are you throwing them around? Don't you know chairs are for sitting?”

“I...know sir…”

It felt like forever, Lotor's gaze heavy and uncomfortable- Lance could relate to Pidge, he wished to melt into the floor and disappear as well.

With a swift movement of his eyelid,Lance was no longer a slave to Lotor's hideous glare, his brown eyes finding a new victim right next to him

“Kogane.”

Lance could feel Keith tense up besides him, his collar suddenly free from Keith's harsh hands

“ Were you about to hit him?”

 

Silence

 

“....no”  wow, best liar award goes to Keith Kogane.

 

“You weren't going to kiss him either were you?” Lotor stated in utter disbelief,even when his attention wasn't focused on him Lance felt terrified, he could practically see Keith laying on a plate in front of the professor who was ready to cut into him and make him suffer at any given moment.

Keith visibly gone red, opening his mouth and closing it immediately, mumbling something Lance couldn't make out under his breath

It seemed like Shiro finally escaped the two-thirsty-boys trap as he was now standing, looking at Lotor with pleading puppy eyes

“Professor it's okay, we got it under control”

“I'm the one to decide that, Shirogane.” Lotor did not bother to give him more attention than that, proving that even the group's dad could not stop him.

“worry not, dear students” a blank smile appeared on his menacing pretty face,

 

Lance knew they were doomed.

 

Lotor's hand fell heavily on Lance's shoulder, and he noticed that he did the same for Keith, they exchanged worried looks and turned to face their terrifying teacher

“ It just occurred me that there's that event tomorrow for which I need to completely empty out and decorate a classroom….and it turns out I'm in such luck! Since I found myself two willing volunteers”

His grip tightened on their shoulders and his smile never left his face, god, how can a smiling man be so beautiful yet so horrifying?

Lance swallowed, his lips pushed into a thin line

“ And if you fight, you'll be emptying out your dorm rooms next, packing your stuff and ready to leave , got that?”

His voice was so cold Lance was sure he felt a cold breeze run down his spine, bringing chills with it

Both of them nodded helplessly

God, Lotor is a horrible person.

 

 

                                                                                           

* * *

 

 

 

The task they were given was to empty a huge ass classroom, and by empty means to move away all the chairs and tables

Fucking hell, Lance is never shoving chairs again, even if it's to hurt Keith.

Not sure how long it will take them, Lance felt concerned with the fact that he will be doing all of this with Keith, for god knows how long

Keith already looked like he will scratch his eyes out at any given moment, and Lance did not want to think about the things he could do to him when they're completely alone ( and not in the sexy way, don't even think about it, ew)

But he had no way of escaping when the classroom door closed shut  behind them, following with aching silence.

“So.. uh, moving chairs..” Lance said, perhaps to tear down that heavy burdening silence they had hanging there for a while, Keith just scoffed, kicking out from the door and heading towards the classroom

So they went off to work.

Moving chairs wasn't too hard, it was just too fucking loud and they were too many of them, lazily piling up the chairs on top of each other Lance got very annoyed with the same loud chair pulling noise coming from the other side of the classroom, he did not dare to look at Keith, it felt like they created a mental line that they couldn't cross, sticking both of them in two different corners of the room, keeping a safe distance.

 

And this tactic seemed to work fine until Lance couldn't feel his hands any more and there were tables to pull as well.

Lance dared to look in Keith's direction, his side was completely emptied out, all the Chairs piled up and the tables pulled into the corners, Lance felt sudden irritation crawling under his skin, how did he finish it so fast?

It didn't take long before their gaze locked, glaring at each other through an almost empty classroom, Lance wasn't sure when did it turn into a staring contest, but he didn't even think about blinking, fixing his violent stare at Keith,who seemed to be thinking the same: 'i won't lose’

Guess who broke the gaze? Keith. He did.

But when he did that, Lance already wished he hadn't, because in the moment Keith's voice echoed around the semi empty room, Lance felt like punching him.

“You barely did anything.” Keith coldly remarked, Lance huffed out an annoyed breath through his nose

“What? Never heard of rest you animal?” Lance's tone was similar to Keith, cold,sharp, and definitely not friendly.

“That's a punishment, you're not supposed to rest.”

“Oh really? If you're really into kissing Lotor's ass so much you can finish it all by yourself mr.know all” Lance rolled his eyes dramatically and flopped on one of the tables in protest, leaning forward and moving his legs around childishly.

“I am not.” Keith was already on his way towards him

“-Kissing Lotor's ass.”  his angry voice suddenly close to Lance, which wasn't surprising- Keith was standing right in front of him now.

“Doesn't look like that, for me it seems like you're all into his ass really” Lance shifted on the table to sit more comfortably, implying that he's not intimidated by Keith's annoying presence at all.

“Move.” Keith's teeth were gritted hard,he clearly lost whatever cool temper he tried to keep beforehand, what a lovely sight.

“Make me.” Lance blurted out smugly, not really thinking before saying that

His smug did not last long however, it shattered to pieces in the moment Keith kicked the table aggressively, making Lance squeal loudly, grabbing into the table with his dear life so he won't fall.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” His broken shout escaping before he collected himself to try and sound more intimidating

Keith, Lance quickly learned, is a hothead and there's literally no effort required to piss him off

And he was already grabbing Lance by his collar, locking himself between Lance's legs, pushing him down on the poor table and strangling him

 

“Is that a fight I see?” a familiar, and even due to Lance's poor-ass-handed-to-him situation, unwelcome voice echoed across the forsaken semi empty classroom.

Both of the boys froze in their somewhat intimate position, exchanging panicked glances

 

Lotor, fucking Lotor again.

 

What's his deal with showing up whatever Keith and Lance are in perfect position to be kicked out of this damn academy.

 

Without thinking, Lance wrapped his legs around Keith's waist, pulling him closer

Fuck that. He's not getting kicked because of Keith.

Stumbling, Keith's hands fell hard on the wooden table in order to somewhat steady himself, both of them stiffing up, not Daring to breathe

“ What the fuck are you doing” Keith angry whispered at him

“Shut up and play along. I'm not packing my bags home, oh no” Lance whispered back

He cleared his throat and collected all the thoughts in his mind

“W-what?” He squealed, looking at Lotor trough Keith's ( surprisingly frim) shoulder

Lance was a splendid actor, and that's the time to show his skills to save his ass.

“N-no professor we're not fighting..” he tried.to mumble as shyly as he possibly could

Lotor's gaze suspiciously narrowed on them

“Then what's that exactly?” His hands were crossed over his chest, finger angrily tapping on bicep

“W-we’re… Making out….” Lance felt like gagging, and Keith made a disgusted shrug besides him

“Excuse Me?” Lotor's voice sounded surprised, like, genuinely Surprised

“Y-yeah- you see- I like it aggressive so-” Lance's eyes filled up with tears, he's never been so ashamed in his life

“Oh my God- no more. Break apart immediately.”  Lotor groaned, running a hand through his silky white hair

The boy's listened delightfully, breaking apart so fast they created some uncomfortable wind around them.

“McClain, I by no means interested in your sex life, don't you dare speak to me like that again.” Lotor's voice was so cold Lance could feel his own boiling face cooling down a little

“Y-yes sir.”

Lotor was now standing in front of them, his expression Making Lance's knees shake a little.

“I told you no fighting yes, but no one said you're allowed to-” he coughed “-aggressively make out during detention.”  

Lance and Keith both kept silent, Lance wondered if someone ever got kicked out thanks to a fake makeout session.

 

Lotor sighed, his shoulders dropping

“Just- finish this” he moved his arms around, turning their looks at their half finished task

“And don't forget to cut out the decorations I asked for, they're on the teacher's table”

“Yessir”  the boys mumbled

“And no making out.” Lotor's finger was now pointing directly at them, eyes angry and unforgiving

“Yessir” they repeated, their gaze fixed on everything but him.

“Good.” Lotor sighed again, staring them down suspiciously before leaving.

 

Alone in the classroom again, Lance started really missing Lotor's presence, he may be the devil himself, but being stuck here with Keith wasn't better.

He moved his eyes carefully, peeking at Keith, his pale skin was bright red now, Lance would've thought it's from anger if he didn't see his expression: soft and embarrassed, with his eyebrows curled into a frown, his hand clenched at the fabric on his chest, it looked like he tried hard not to melt on the spot, but his rude blush, invading even the tips of his barely mullet-free ears, showing only bright red tips of flesh hidden within a black lock of hair, deeply failing him.

 

Guess besides getting easily pissed off, Keith went shy just as effortlessly.

 

“What?” Too busy examining Keith's flushed features, Lance didn't notice Keith's sharp eyes him

“N-nothing”  Lance stuttered, only now realizing that he's been staring

“I- I really saved us out there” come on fake confidence, don't lose now

“I mean, he said that if he will catch us fighting we're done for, you should be grateful” Lance was rambling into the air, not even sure if Keith was listening

“Was…. Was cradling me necessary though?”  Now Keith sounded just like he looked like, shy and unsure.

And this new side of Keith made Lance way too uncomfortable

“Well duh! You're the one who threw yourself at me at the first place!” Lance exclaimed

“What! I did not!”

“You did.”

“Did not!”

“Oh you did~”

“Did not!!”

“Oh it's okay pretty boy~ I know I'm irresistible, no surprise that you threw yourself in my arms~” Lance hugged himself and spinned dramatically around Keith, wiggling his eyebrows at him smugly

“Pretty bo-” a sharp gasp escaped Keith's mouth, and to Lance's surprise he went even redder

“I didn't throw myself into your arms!! I was going to hit you!! You dumb ass!”  He might have tried to sound alarming, but he sounded way to defensive in Lance's opinion.

“Hit me or hit on me “ Lance winked at him, never ceasing to spin around and tease the blushing mess called Keith Kogane.

 

Bullying Keith is pretty entertaining actually, he gets worked up from the most little things, helplessly trying to defend himself against Lance's teasing

“You know what! Fuck this fuck you I'm so tired of this” Keith's defeat was clear, since he turned around and pulled a table to the closest wall

Lance was Satisfied, Since he got an excellent view on Keith's blushing nape.

“Oh yes do the work shortie~”  Lance waved, Grabbing the scissors and starting the creative part of the punishment,if Keith really wanted to push tables around so eagerly, Lance will let him, his hands are too tired anyways.

 

Keith's reaction was just as Lance expected since the cringy table pulling sound stopped and got replaced by a defensive yell

“I'm not a shortie!!” He stomped his feet on the floor angrily

“Say that when you don't have to look up to my face~” Lance sing sang, sitting on the teacher's table and cutting the colorful paper  

“Not my fault you're a fucking tower”

Lance mentally marked that Keith indeed, even if not at loud, admitted that he's higher than him

“I'm not a tower, don't you know elves are like two meters tall? Also they're the most awesome and beautiful beings, so get out of my face, dwarf.”

It seemed like Keith finished moving the tables since now he was somehow sitting besides Lance, cutting the paper wackliky

“Did you just- elves are definitely not the most awesome! Hobbits are way cooler”

“Hobbits?!” Lance laughed out loud

“Have you ever seen Legolas miss a shot?” Lance asked

“ Have you ever seen Sam gamgee helping Frodo reach Mordor?”  Keith answered

 

First of all, Lance couldn't believe they were now fighting about LOTR

Second of all, who the fuck thinks Hobbits are cool?? They're like, fat and small, their feet are horrible!! How could he even compare them to the perfect elflings?!

“Ooh now I get it, you have this hideous mullet because you want to look like a hobbit”

“What?” Keith frowned at him

“Hobbit’s hair is curly! Mine’s straight!”  

“Oh honey, nothing about you is straight” Lance returned his frown, two people can play this game Kogane.

“And you're saying that after calling me honey?are you serious?”  Keith’s horrible art project long forgotten, with the scissors and a previously perfectly okay red piece of paper he somehow managed to ruin.

“Not only that you're a horrible person, your taste is wrong in literally everything!”  Lance pointed at him with his own pair of scissors

“What? My taste is great!” Keith huffed angrily, blowing his stupid mullet out of his face

“You have no right to say that while you have a ridiculous mullet on your head!”

“What's your problem with Mullets!?”  Keith was defending his ridiculous mess of a hair like it was his child, it wasn't even about  both of them liking Shiro anymore, it was a matter of pride.

“It's ugly!!!” Lance shouted

“You're ugly!!”  Keith shouted back

Lance gasped, moving back dramatically

“you take that back!”

“Over my dead body!”

Lance pointed his scissors at Keith's face, making Keith jump a little

“I'm the one with the weapon Kogane” he hissed

“Oh I dare you” Keith's eyes narrowed at him

 

And he dared, oh he dared.

With a swift movement of his hand, Lance grabbed a lock of Keith's black hair and cut it off

 

As the black strains of hair fell slowly

 

It accrued him

 

Holyshit.

 

He cut it off.

 

He really went and cut it off.

 

Within seconds, Lance was no longer in sight

Sprinting for his dear life through the wide Academy halls

 

“LANCE!!!!”

A horrendous shout was heard from the other side of the hall, louder than Lance's heavy panting and echoing footsteps.

Thank God his legs are so long, giving him somewhat of a speed advantage

 

“I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU”

Keith's angry voice rang in his ears, Lance could feel himself laugh hysterically, perhaps from the adrenaline, or the crippling fear

 

He wasn't sure.

 

Keith did not catch him, Lance was happy he didn't as he was wheezing inside one of the toilets, locked safely away from all kinds of murderous mullets.

 

Ha, he runs faster than Keith.

 

At the end of the day, Lance made a third and final list, this one was different however, having  two names on it:

**win count:**

**Lance:1                                                          Keith: 0**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed the second chapter of this silly story, if it made you laugh i will be more than glad to hear it in your comments !


	3. eyes on the prize

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith's seat was in the back of the class, he found himself a comfortable corner right next to the window, it was quieter than the seats up front, and the professor wouldn't pay attention to him much- therefore, it is the perfect seat.  
> And as perfect and secure as it is, of course Keith's peace is always to be disturbed, his disturbance is coming in a form of a very small, bushy haired hoodie wearing Midget
> 
> Pidge Holt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally Keith's POV yayyyyy ! i'm really proud of this chapter i think it turned out very funny! hope you will enjoy it as well

**Drop dead gorgeous** named the group:  **Lotor is a mean nugget**

 

**Not today Satan:** lame

**Drop dead gorgeous:** shut up Pidge, I'm deeply traumatized 

**Chunky yet funky:** Lance you're done with detention?

**Drop dead gorgeous:** guess what's more terrifying: Lotor when he found out  I ditched the other half of detention

**Chunky yet funky:** oh god

**Drop dead gorgeous:** OR

**Drop dead gorgeous:** a certain mullet after I may or may not

**Drop dead gorgeous:** cut a part of his hair off

**Not today Satan:** I'm screenshotting, we may need some evidence when we will find your dead body 

**Drop dead gorgeous:** in conclusion: both are equally as terrifying help me

**Chunky yet funky:** dude where you at?

**Drop dead gorgeous:** can't tell you buddy, don't know if Lotor has some magical hacking skills

**Not today Satan:** offended

**Not today Satan:** how did you even get in this mess

**Drop dead gorgeous:** Keith.

**Not today Satan:** highly doubt that

  
  


Lance ended up receiving an another detention, thankfully without Keith this time.

He was extremely cautious whenever he was around his room, now knowing that the enemy lives right besides him, the friendly dorms became a dangerous battlefield.

Anyway,since the 'hair cutting incident’ Lance had a new tactic: to try his best to stay away from Keith Kogane, in order to survive.

Which was a logical way of thinking, Lance discovered Keith has a bunch of knives in his closet, and he did say he was going to murder Lance, of course the only appropriate course of action is to hide for your dear life.

But with that genius tactic came the harsh truth, if he wants to see Shiro, he will have to deal with his evil koga-shadow.

He simply couldn't grasp the idea of Keith being this close to Shiro, they're literally nothing alike, guess that's the thing with being childhood friends, no matter what you're kind of stuck with them.

While proving Keith a point was an amazing experience, Lance wasn't as sure that it was all worth it.

The task he was given is to clean all the tables after lunch, and he's unsure if Lotor could give out such a punishment, intimating as he was, Lotor is just a professor.

At least he wasn't kicked out, that's a plus.

He might have been trying to gather his thoughts while scraping off some gum from a table (ew, who does that) but all he could think about was Keith.

And it was annoying, because Keith did not make him feel all light and fluttering like Shiro did, he made him feel angry, uncomfortable, irritated.

And yet, he just couldn't stop thinking about him, his flushed up face and his loud complaints, how he tried to keep cool even though he's a hothead 

Lance felt chills run down his spine, disgust, that's what it was, yeah.

Like, of course he had perfect lips, especially when the rest of him is a little fucked up

But the rest of him isn't fucked up.

Well yeah, maybe liking knives is a little fucked up, is it? Lance didn't know anymore.

But even if Lance refused to admit, Keith had very nice eyebrows, and he looks strong, his shoulders are firm, his eyes are sharp and his Mullet is always messy-

Fuck.

“I wanna vomit- I wanna vomit.” Lance groaned audibly, hitting his head on the now clean table, this is so annoying.

  
  
  


* * *

 

 

Keith has spent at least an hour in his forsaken bathroom, frowning as his reflection stares back at him in the mirror, the lock of hair Lance rudely cut off was sticking out out his side, standing high no matter how many times Keith tried to brush it down, you may think that it will just lay down with the rest of his hair, but no.

In the second his hairbrush releases his coal strains of hair, the visibly shorter part immediately peeks through, shooting up  just like it has been before he brushed it.

“Ughhh” he let out an exasperated groan, his hair was messy as it is, usually he really wouldn't mind 

But this, this piece of hair, just sticking out like that and *not moving*

That annoyed Keith to his core.

He can't even pick it up in his ponytail, which only made it worse , Keith liked wearing his ponytail during chem- well, actually you always have to tie your hair up during chemistry, lab laws or something.

And unfortunately for him, chem was exactly the class Keith was heading to.

Furrowing his eyebrows at his reflection for one last time, Keith sighed and just grabbed his hair tie, collecting his hair into a low ponytail, well, the parts that obligated at least.

 

He snatched his black hoodie that was peacefully lying on his chair and pulled it over his head, sighing audibly when the warmth of the thick fabric spread across his skin.

Keith liked being warm, it was nice, especially when it's cold outside and warm clothes is your only barrier from the cruel but beautiful freezing world.

Yet he hated when it was hot, like, unbearably hot 

He hated sweating, he hated panting, he despised feeling all sticky and disgusting

 

And Lance McClain made him feel hot.

 

Every time Keith saw him, he felt anger boiling in his throat, crawling under his skin, screaming at him to do something risky just to prove himself,to say something mean

And Keith did not consider himself a mean person, maybe cold yeah, but definitely not mean.

And now that Lance- loud, rude, argumentative Lance, is coming for his dearest friend Shiro

And he couldn't allow that.

Keith liked Shiro for a long time, he wasn't going to do anything about it really, Shiro’s not into men

But since a certain annoying someone jumped into frame, tearing everything Keith knew apart

He felt like he couldn't lose, exclusively not to him.

 

Giving his room an another glance just to check that he didn't forget anything, Keith closed the door behind him and went on his way

The route to chemistry class is nice, since it takes part in a different building,you have to go outside and pass through a green area, it's always quite peaceful, just passing through a small lane between trees and green grass, like a piece of quiet between all the buzzing buildings, and since it's early in the morning, there's barely anyone there, leaving the beautiful road only to Keith.

Keith liked those quiet treasures, you could only appreciate them in complete silence, not letting anyone or anything get in your way, not even your own head

He could take his time and observe the patterns on the leaves, the fresh morning dew resting on the green grass, everything painted beautifully with the pale morning sun and it felt like an utter waste to let any loud unappreciative humans into this beautiful painting of nature, right in the middle of the huge gray buildings.

He shivered delightfully when the cold morning air hit his face, since the semester started in October, it was already chilly outside

October is an awesome month, bringing autumn together with the cool breeze,so it's cold enough for hoodies but not enough for coats and everyone around you is generally excited for Halloween to come

So Keith let himself enjoy his silent road, only for his footsteps to accompany him just before he's entering the loud building, full of running anxious students, some late for class, some dead tired after an all nighter, some moaning from a painful hangover 

And Keith quietly passes between them, bumping into a couple of students, and even overhearing their conversations

“i can't believe he broke up with me!”

or

“Did you do the assignment?”

Sometimes even 

“I haven't slept for two days and I'm dying”

 

Keith didn't care much, he never really tried to hear the full conversation, he only cared about his bond with Shiro, since he was a dear friend of his, and Keith deeply loved him, crush or not, Shiro was there for him always 

Never giving up on his rebellious self, never batting an eye about his actions, the thought about judging Keith never came to his mind

And that was reasonable enough for other people not to matter too much, why would they? he had Shiro after all.

But passing all these different people was part of his route to chemistry class, so Keith had no choice but to go on.

He likes to refer to himself as some kind of shadow, quietly passing between the unfamiliar faces which he'd never bother to get to know nor remember

None of them were eternal, they are, just like he is, just a passing period in this academy

It can go on without them, and so is he.

 

There they are, the familiar chemistry class doors- marking the end of Keith's special route, there were a couple more minutes before the lesson starts, Keith went in.

Garrison academy is an expensive college, yet it gives a chance for anyone who's capable of doing great things so you could see all kinds of people and social ranks there, furthermore to respect everyone's social status, all the classrooms and dorms are designed similarly: 

Wide white classrooms with high ceilings,with Garrison's iconic orange stripes on the wall right between the windows and the ceiling, two thick stripes going all around the academy, creating the school's aesthetic.

Chemistry class had a black marble floor, just like all the other classrooms with a giant white board in front of the long gray tables

The only thing to differ one classroom from another  were the posters- bright and colorful, all stuck on the plain white walls in order to make this place a bit more cheerful, Keith heard that students are the ones that suggested to put up some posters, and they're the ones who made them, so everyone are free to make a new poster about their project and put it on the wall with the professor's approval.

 

Keith's seat was in the back of the class, he found himself a comfortable corner right next to the window, it was quieter than the seats up front, and the professor wouldn't pay attention to him much- therefore, it is the perfect seat.

And as perfect and secure as it is, of course Keith's peace is always to be disturbed, his disturbance is coming in a form of a very small, bushy haired hoodie wearing Midget

 

Pidge Holt.

 

Satan themselves, if Keith gets a say in this

Here's a thing with Pidge Holt: you never get a say with them.

Just a few days ago they dragged him into doing a group project together ( literally against his will) not that he was really complaining, they did get a full mark on that project but that's not the issue!

The whole process- they just brought Lance right into his doorstep, not leaving him much of a choice but to let that jerk in.

They stayed over the WHOLE NIGHT! Which wasn't entirely their fault they did get a little too invested in Keith's knives- but because of that they had to push through a long all nighter together finishing their chemistry project

At some point Pidge passed out on his bed, he had to sleep on the floor

It was trrible.

And you may think that Pidge would let him go after that but no.

They just moved in to sit right next to him in class, nudging him through the lessons and then following him through the academy halls

Keith had no idea what intentions Pidge Holt had for him,but considering that everyone from Lance's gang are a pain in the ass Keith honestly didn't want to know.

“Sup Kogane” they smirked at him knowingly, flopping right into the chair besides him, Keith saw his eye roll and annoyed expression reflected in their glasses, wondering if those pieces of glass were blocking the clear message that their presence is unwanted or Pidge just chose to ignore them.

“Nice haircut” 

“Very funny.” Keith groaned, running his hand heavy on his head in a desperate try to push that damn lock of hair down.

“Don't frown so much, you will get wrinkles” their tone was light and teasing, truly irritating in Keith's opinion, his frown deepened.

Pidge sighed “you're going to be a very nasty grandpa”

“Great, I always wished to scare little children when I'm old” Keith muttered 

“You're already scaring kids!”  their expression melted into something whiny “I'm so scared of the bitter angsty teenager Keith!!”  they said in a high pitched crying-like voice

“I'm not bitter.” Keith said, bitterly.

“oh please, you're the human embodiment of the darkest, nastiest coffee!” Pidge rested their head on the table, wiggling their eyebrows at him

Should he be offended by that? Honestly, Keith had no idea what that Midget is thinking, and didn't feel like getting into it too much.

“Says the Grinch.”  he said, glaring at Pidge's worn out green hoodie

“excuse me?!” Pidge's head shot up, pushing far too much into Keith's personal space, making him move back ( isn't that a bit familiar?) 

“I'm not the Grinch!! Stop bullying me!!” They returned to their child like whiny voice

Bullying?? Keith was clearly the one getting bullied here.

Pidge fell back into their chair with a thud, pushing their mess of a hair down to resemble some kind of bangs, they frowned their face hard and muttered in an annoying  mocking voice 

“Oh look at me I'm Keith I'm so cool! I'm a loner with a tragic past and I wear fingerless gloves because it adds to my mysterious character!!”

Keith gasped, opening his mouth and then closing it, processing the image before him

“I don't sound like that at all!!!” He exclaimed, pushing their shoulder slightly, stupid Pidge

His fingerless gloves are cool.

It didn't take long for Pidge to break character, since their intense frown was replaced with a light genuine laugh 

“You have to admit I got your horrible haircut and frown down perfectly though!!” they wiped the tears under their eyes, giggling softly

“You definitely did not.”  Keith crossed his arms around his chest, chuckling a little

Pidge's eyes locked at him, curling together with their wide smile 

“I made you chuckle” they stated proudly

“Wow you" Keith rolled his eyes, couldn't help but to smirk himself

Pidge's gaze was heavy on him for a little while before their hands collided into a single clap 

“It's decided! You're joining our gang!” They stated, not really asking Keith's opinion apparently

“What? No” his eyebrows were already glued together in disapproval

“That's the thing Keith, it's already decided” they winked at him, shooting down all his resistance with the click of their finger guns

“But-” Keith’s plea for help was rudely cut off by the teachers voice, demanding silence in order for the lesson to start

Wow, nice, great.

 

Pidge Holt indeed was the Grinch, but instead of ruining Christmas

They constantly try to ruin Keith's perfectly normal life.

  
  


**Not today Satan** has added  **spicy boi** to this conversation

**Drop dead gorgeous:** what

**Drop dead gorgeous:** who's that

**Chunky yet funky:** ?????

**Not today Satan:** yo Keith

**Drop dead gorgeous:** WHAT

**Spicy boi:** ?

**not today Satan:** it's Pidge, I added you to our group chat :3

**Drop dead gorgeous:** WHAAATTTT

**Spicy boi:** how did you get my Facebook????

**not today Satan:** oh that's easy! I played with your phone while you were asleep during chem >:3

**Drop dead gorgeous:** PIDGE WHAT THE FUCK

**Drop dead gorgeous:** HOW DARE YOU!! HE'S MY RIVAL!!

**Drop Dead gorgeous:** HE RUINED OUR PERFECT DRAG RACE NICKNAMES!!

**Drop dead gorgeous:** PIDGE

**Chunky yet funky:** dear god Lance write everything in a single message, my phone is dying

**Drop dead gorgeous:** I'M DYING!!

**Spicy boi:** I'm leaving

**Not today Satan:** don't you dare. I know where you live.

**Drop dead gorgeous:** STOP IGNORING MEEEEEEEE

**Chunky yet funky:** Pidge, could you please explain?

**Not today Satan:** sure thing! I decided Keith is a part of our gang now! He's a pretty cool dude

**Chunky yet funky:** oh! Cool, welcome buddy 

**Drop dead gorgeous:** NOT COOL AT ALL WTF

**Spicy boi:** I'm guessing that the dramatic one is Lance

**Not today Satan:** see? you already fit in!

  
  
  
  


Keith had a plan: the moment class is dismissed, Keith will sprint out of the classroom so fast Pidge's short legs won't be able to follow him and force him into social interactions.

Perfect, this plan is perfect.

 

But nothing is ever perfect in Keith's favor, oh no.

The moment their lesson was over, Keith was ready to run, in fact- he did 

Ignoring Pidge's squeaks behind him, he let his legs take him outside the classroom as fast as they could 

Everything was going according to Keith's great plan until he bumped into a warm firm surface, feeling heavy familiar hands landing on his shoulders

“Where do you think you're going?” Shiro smirked at him

Poor innocent Keith, he had no idea where this was going

Instead he let himself blush a little, clearly forgetting about a certain Grinch someone

“Shiro- hey” he smiled at him

“Good!! Shiro hold him!” Pidge's voice echoed loudly in Keith's ear, 

Oh

Oh no

They dragged Shiro into this didn't they? 

But before Keith could process his best friend’s betrayal, Shiro's grip on his shoulders tightened

“Don't worry Pidge, we'll see him try escaping this” 

Shiro's previously warm and welcoming  smile suddenly turned into something more mischievous 

“Y-you traitor!” Keith gasped, clumsily trying to free himself from Shiro's strong grip 

“I knew you'd fall into a false sense of security, that's why I called Shiro there”  Pidge's shadow  was standing proudly in the corner of Keith's eye, they looked like a Disney villain- laughing  proudly at the poor hero they've captured, ready to reveal their evil plan

And they did.

“You, my friend, are going to have a lot of fun with us today~”   Pidge's smile was triumphal and Keith honestly wondered how much evil could be locked inside of their small figure.

This is about time that the poor captured hero miraculously escapes completely destroying the villains evil plan, but Keith realized that his escape is practically impossible as Shiro led him through the wide Academy halls

With a heavy sigh leaving Keith's shoulders, he decided to turn into his last attempt of salvation, he  might have a crush on Shiro, but the man himself never escaped Keith's puppy eyes.

He might have the upper hand in this.

So with pouting lips and curled eyebrows, he slowly turned his face to Shiro, looking at him through his big, watery eyes 

“Shiro..” he mumbled

“No. Keith stop looking at me like that.” Shiro is visibly awed, good.

“But- but please! You know I don't like this kind of stuff!!” Keith whispered at him in hope that Pidge won't hear him 

Shiro hummed “I know you don't, that's why I'm doing this, it's for your sake man” 

“My sake? How exactly?” If puppy eyes won't work, then glaring would

“Oh~ still in denial? I'm trying to help you with your crush!” 

 

Huh? 

 

Keith stared at him blankly, what is he talking about? Shiro is his crush, why is HIS crush talking about Keith's other...crush…?

He had an another crush? no he didn't, that would be stupid, Keith had his eye for Shiro for a while, and it's not like he's hanging out with someone else 

Maybe he thinks that Matt is his crush..? he talks with Matt, Matt is cool, but he's not Keith's crush 

“My crush?” 

“Don't act all clueless on me!” Shiro exclaimed, patting him on the shoulder 

The thing is, Keith wasn't acting, he was as clueless as he can be

“Who?” he asked without thinking how stupid he might've sound 

Shiro rolled his eyes “Lance! You think I wouldn't notice?”

 

What.

 

Keith’s eyes narrowed on Shiro's innocent expression, he looked so excited to 'find out’ about his crush

Which is absolutely adorable, Shiro was so happy and enthusiastic, and that would be a cute 'best-friend-helps-you-date-your crush-situation’ except one tiny little detail: LANCE IS NOT HIS CRUSH

Shiro is.

“I don't like Lance!” Keith groaned, this is the absolute worst 

“I can see through your lies!” Shiro booped his nose, winking at him

“I'm not lying! I like-” 

I like you, that's what he wanted to say, but bit his damn tongue instead, blushing wildly

“awww look at you blushing! don't worry pal, you and him will be together in no time! I am an excellent match maker” Shiro stated proudly, Keith wanted to die.

 

 

* * *

 

 

**Earlier that day:**

 

**Pidge Holt** has sent you a message, accept?

 

[accept]

 

**Pidge Holt:** Hey Shiro! I'm Pidge, we study at the Garrison together, I found your Facebook through Keith's phone and thought maybe you'd want to chat :)

**Takashi Shirogane:** Hey Pidge! It's funny that we didn't ask each other sooner, with us knowing Matt and stuff

**Pidge Holt:** yeah XD

**Takashi Shirogane:** I have a question

**Takashi Shirogane:** Keith and Lance are dating?

**Pidge Holt:** no…

**Pidge Holt:** ....t yet ;)

**Takashi Shirogane:** what!! I was sure they are! Keith doesn't shut up about him!

**Pidge Holt:** same here 

**Pidge Holt:** wanna help them out?;)

**Takashi Shirogane:** ;)

 

 

* * *

 

 

Here's the situation: Keith is currently being dragged into his dorms by his crush (Shiro) who deeply believes Keith has a crush on Lance ( his mortal enemy), and is planning to be their matchmaker. Together with Pidge who's planning to make him take part in their gang and hang out with them, and honestly Keith doesn't know what did he do to fuck up so badly.

Once Keith bothers to look around him and comprehend where they are he realizes that the three of them are standing very close to his room, but not quite there

They were standing in front of Lance's room. 

Great, Time to die.

Pidge didn't even kncok, they just kicked the door open “sup losers! I'm here” 

“Pidge!” Lance's head popped into vision, he looked at them with total disarray 

“How dare you add him into our-” Lance's eyes slowly moved from Pidge to him, his mouth closed into a sharp,thin line, Keith was sure he heard a yelp 

Keith felt Lance's eyes fixated on his very visible lock of hair that was standing proudly on the side of his head, probably horrified from his own work,ironic.

“Why-” Lance's voice broke “ why are you here?!”  his voice was loud and squeaky, sending waves of annoyance through Keith's viens 

“what?! You don't like my new haircut?” Keith pulled out a pencil from his pocket, luckily for him he grabbed it while trying to run away from Pidge earlier this day 

Lance jumped back with a shriek, defending his dear face from the sharp pencil

“what are you doing?! why do you have a pencil in your pocket-” he whined, Keith stepped closer, pointing the pencil at him just like Lance had him with scissors yesterday 

“I can't kill you, but your eye can say goodbye” Keith smiled widely, enjoying Lance's shivering body beneath him, Lance was an asshole, he deserved Keith's teasing 

Lance groaned “that's a pencil!”, Keith agreed, it was.

“ Pidge take him away from me! He'll kill mee” it was a pathetic sight, Lance hid behind Pidge eying Keith suspiciously 

Pidge just sighed “no, we're going to hang out! all of us!”  Lance immediately turned away from them, realizing they're no longer a shelter “what! Absolutely not! He's not entering our room!” 

“I agree! I don't want to be around- him!” Keith pointed at Lance, McClain flipped the bird at him in return 

“Boys” an ease spread across Keith's body together with a flush, Shiro was standing between them, smiling softly

What a beautiful smile it was, both Lance and Keith visibly melted at his sight 

“Wouldn't that be fun to hang out together?” Somehow, Shiro pushed both of them closer to himself, his arms casually wrapping around the boys shoulders 

Hang out with Shiro? He'll take a part in it too? Keith noticed Lance's cheeks go crimson, their eyes locked and it quickly turned into an intense glare, Keith disliked Lance,he really disliked him

But Shiro wants them all to get along…..

“So? You're in?” His soft smile was now directed at Keith, oh god, how could he say no to this? 

Keith nodded shyly, yes, he will tolerate Lance

But just for Shiro's sake.

 

Lance's room was different than Keith's, he lived there with Hunk so it was remarkably bigger, having two beds on each side of the room accompanied with a pair of small closets and tables as well, unlike Keith's room, their walls were full of posters, Keith assumed the side filled with Shakira's posters was Lance's, and the one with a bunch of family pictures is Hunk's.

A very nice room when you think about it, too bad Lance's burdening glare made Keith's whole experience in this room utterly uncomfortable.

They worked out a some sort of pattern, being all smiling and friendly when under Shiro's eye, but nearly killing each other whenever he turns around.

Hunk greeted him with a warm smile, letting the group spread around their room 

Keith sat on Hunk's bed, not daring to enter McClain’s territory while Shiro made himself comfortable on Lance's bed, Keith would've groaned at Lance's triumphant smile at him if only Shiro's gaze wasn't tearing his insides apart, damn, he feels like he's on a some sort of court, not daring to be rude in front of Shiro's all knowing judging eyes.

Lance himself, was sitting annoyingly close to Shiro, suddenly not so upset about this whole situation, what a jerk.

“so how about we play a game?” Pidge suggested, they were sitting with their legs spread open on one of the computer chairs, lazily wrapping their arms around the chair’s back 

Hunk's face lit up “ that's a great idea! What game?”  meanwhile Keith frowned, games? He doesn't want to play games, they're for children! It seems like Lance's reaction was similar to his, his expression shining with blunt disapproval.

“I don't wanna-” Lance began only to be cut off by Shiro's excited voice

“Oh I love games!” He smiled brightly, Lance's mouth went shut as if he wasn't talking at all, his disapproving expression replaced with over exaggerated excitement  “games? I love them!” what a sneaky jerk! It was clear as day that he was lying!

Exhaling loudly through his nose,Keith spoke

“G-games are great! Yeah!” He managed to say, his voice a bit too fidgety and too tense but it did the job, Lance frowned at him, Keith gladly returned.

~~_ Games are for children _ ~~ , they are going to play the fuck out of these  games! Keith is going to win, he has to.

There is absolutely no way he is losing to Lance.

“What is that? You're suddenly into games Kogane?” Lance’s smile at him was tense and forced, similar to his tone.

“Yeah actually” Keith muttered through gritted teeth, returning Lance an identical smile “I absolutely  _ adore _ them.” God, he despised Lance, how is it even possible for a human being to be so annoying? he completely messed up his senses, making Keith play  _ games. _

“What game Pidge.” Hunk's voice was loud and impatient, tearing down the tense  atmosphere that was hanging between them, it wasn't even much of a question, it seemed that unlike the oblivious Shiro, Hunk did feel their hate for one another and deeply wished for their passive aggressive chat to end.

“How about two truths and a lie?” Pidge hopped off the chair, and sat down on the floor in a cross legged position

“the rules are simple: each on their turn has to think of three statements, two must be true statements and one must be false. the goal is for the group to determine which statement is false, pretty simple stuff” they explained, patting the floor as a mark for everyone to sit around them “ the group has to sit in a circle, and at the end of each round the person has to reveal which one was the lie” Keith nodded, sliding from the bed right onto the floor, shifting himself to sit next to Pidge, the others followed in the end making a small cramped circle between the two beds, Keith noticed how comfortably Lance curled up next to Shiro, feeling his own eyebrow twitch at that.

“I'll start” Pidge smiled, pushing their glasses upwards on the bride of their nose 

“ Peanut butter is my favorite food, I don't actually need to wear glasses,and I think tomatoes are disgusting”  the group was silent, Pidge was good, each and every one of these was a pretty logical statement 

“The third one is obviously the lie” Hunk said, Pidge's lip twitched 

Lance nodded “your glasses are fake, and you have like twelve peanut butter canes under your bed” Pidge sighed, trying hard not to break their character

“Shiro, Keith?” They asked, now everyone were gazing at the pair.

Keith frowned, if the glasses were fake, why would Pidge need to wear them? that simply doesn't make sense 

“ I think that the glasses are real.”  he said, crossing his hands over his chest, yes, this is the right answer

Shiro groaned “ that's hard, I barely know you… but… I'd have to agree with Keith"

Two sides, two opinions.. who was right?

Pidge smirked, clapping on their thighs dramatically to resemble a drum roll “ and the right answer is…..the third option! I actually really like tomatoes!” Keith deadpanned, groaning loudly, of course Lance was right, he knows them for god know how long!

“Ha!” Lance poined at him proudly “ I was right! I won! Suck it Keith!” 

“ This is not a game that you can win Lance” Keith hissed at him, trying hard to fight his own feeling of defeat 

Next was Hunk's turn, it took him a couple of minutes before he came up with his own three statements: 

“I usually don't go to sleep before two a.m, I've never dyed my hair and I ate an entire medium pizza by myself once” this one was easy, unlike Pidge, Hunk is an innocent ray of sunshine and of course his lies would be more recognizable 

“The first one is the lie” Lance said, and Keith( as painful as it was) agreed, Hunk looks like the type of guy that ten p.m for him is lights out.

Hunk sighed in defeat “you're right”,good, Keith didn't embarrass himself this time.

Next turn was his,he bit his thumb lightly and thought about all kinds of statements in his head, this was quite hard, he had to reveal two  true facts about himself and he wouldn't want to make a fool of himself nor reveal too much about himself to this group of people, shortly after he nodded and announced his three statements 

“ I love deep fried food, I'm lactose intolerant,and I've killed a man once.” 

It's kinda weak, everyone could easily understand the much standing out lie but instead of saying the obvious answer everyone just stared at him blankly, their faces going a little pale 

“Guys…” Keith tried to look at them, but his gaze was strictly avoided “guys… you don't think I killed a man… right…?”  everyone tensed up at that, did Hunk move away from him a little? he noticed the big man swallow in the corner of his eye

“What the hell?” Keith exclaimed “ who do you think I am?!” not only Hunk, also Pidge from his other side shifted their position slightly, creating a much clear distance between them

“W-well…” Pidge murmured, nervously pushing their glasses up even though the didn't require any pushing 

“ Y-you do collect knives…”

Keith was in utter dissray, how, how could they even think that!

“ Shiro, you believe me right? tell them!”

“Eh-what?.... y-yeah-” Shiro was way too startled from the question, his face is pale with marks of his previous shock

“What. You too?!” Keith groaned, he couldn't believe this!!

Shiro knew him since he was like what? 12? he should've recognized the lie immediately! collecting knives is not weird at all! It's really cool

“M- moving on…” Hunk coughed uncomfortably, Keith couldn't ignore the sweat running down his forehead

“My turn!” Lance sing-sang, waving his arms around dramatically,  it didn't take him long to come up with three statements 

“I have 12 family members,I hate swimming,  and I know how to twerk”  Keith gaped at him, each and every one of these options is wild- well, besides the swimming one, which must be a truth, with a quick glance it seemed like everyone else were thinking hard as well,it is possible for Lance to do all those three things.

“So, what do you think huh Keith?” there was some kind of fire in Lance's eyes Keith couldn't explain, but one thing he knew for sure, he won't lose to Lance! He's going to crush him.

“the third option is a lie.” without  waiting for the others to answer Lance jumped up and shouted “wrong!!! ha! I bet you didn't expect that did you?!” he laughed hysterically “I know how to twerk!! and I'm pretty good at it too.” Lance was too proud and Keith was too mad to notice how gay this whole situation was, why would any sane person care that Lance knew how to twerk? why would any sane person feel so defeated?

Keith scoffed “so what? I know how to twerk too.” he doesn't, he most definitely doesn't

That was the most stupid lie Keith has ever told to anyone, but he still said it, and there's no going back

“Oh yeah??? how about you show us?” Lance slammed his hand on the floor, his eyes glistening from the challenge

Shit, fuck he didn't think this through- he didn't think this through at all.

Keith swallowed hard, trying really hard to look tougher than he felt “why would I need to prove myself to you?” 

“You're just saying that because you're scared! I bet I can kick your emo ass!” 

“Na-ah, I'm not wasting my time when I clearly know that I will win.”  Keith flipped his hair dramatically, which looked cool in his head but perhaps was too silly in order to look more intimidating 

“Find a room will ya..” Hunk sighed, his face  buried in his palm, Pidge patted his shoulder lightly

“No Hunk shut up!! this is a real deal! I AM certain that I can kick your ass”

“Are you?” Keith's eyebrows quirked upwards but his hands were sweaty

“guys… please-” Shiro started

Lance’s fist shot up up and he shouted “ Rock paper scissors!!!”  Keith didn't have much time to analyze the situation, his muscles picking up the challenge before his head could process it 

“Paper!!” He shouted, gasping as he noticed that Lance's hand was curled into a fist “ha!”

Lance growled “ rock paper scissors!”

“Scissors!” 

“What-- how ?? Again!!! “

“ Rock!” 

“Scissors!”

“ Paper!”

“Scissors!”

“Aaaaghhh!” 

Both of them were panting heavily, it was three wins and one loss in his favor,their glare at each other was intense, not daring to bat an eye, they had a couple of frustrating ties and their friends have left them, so it was just the two of them now, fighting the most extra rock paper scissors game in history.

“Getting tired huh? your pants are a little too heavy” Lance teased while he's out of breath himself

“Speak for yourself, I could go on forever” Keith’s hand already went sore from all the movement he did, it's surprising how much power and concentration you require for rock paper scissors

“That's enough.” Keith felt something dragging him by the hoodie, mercilessly tossing him into the hall, it took Keith a couple of seconds to realize that Lance was dragged out as well, Hunk's wide shadow was blocking the warm light of the room, he was standing at the doorstep with his arms crossed over his chest, anger clear on his normally soft features 

“everybody left already, if you're planning to fight do it outside.” he wasn't yelling, instead he spoke in a very calm demeanor, making the whole situation a lot more terrifying.

They nodded quickly before the door was slammed in their face, leaving Keith and Lance sitting in the hallway

“Wait…. that's my room as well…”  Lance whispered, probably in fear that Hunk will hear him 

“Well… it's decided then… I won” Keith grinned at him

“What! no you didn't!!”

“Yes I did.”

“Did not!! I demand a rematch!” 

“ My hand is sore man, is there something else I can kick your ass in?”  Keith was sure he had enough rock paper scissors for a lifetime, also, he won so he won't need to play that game ever again

“Eh…” Lance frowned, crossing his legs 

“Oh! I might have cards in my room” Keith suggested, cards are great, his muscles won't hurt

“It's on!” 

 

They walked a couple of steps to enter Keith's room, and Keith searched through his stuff until he found a pack of cards, perfect.

They decided to play crazy eights, and it didn't take much for Keith to lose the flow of time, rematch after rematch they played, each time the loser wouldn't be ready to admit defeat and demand for a rematch, and the proud winner would be too proud to decline 

Thus they played through the night, teasing and arguing loudly, their original task to impress Shiro was long forgotten, since Shiro wasn't there, it's a matter of pride now, and fun, but just a little bit.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lance woke up uncomfortable.

Squeezing his eyes shut from the bright morning light and the vibrating headache resulted in his obvious lack of sleep, Lance quickly realized the bed he was in wasn't his.

He jerked himself up, looking around himself, the unfamiliar bed was covered in cards, right, he was playing cards with Keith yesterday… Keith.

Oh god Keith.

He was sleeping right next to him, black locks of hair messed up all over his head making his haircut look less than a mullet and more like a nest

Even when asleep Keith's thick eyebrows were curled together into a soft frown, perhaps he was dreaming about something or his face is just structured like that so he'll look annoyed all the time,his lips were parted slightly and he curled up inside his wide raven hoodie, his chest rising and falling calmly in his sleep.

Lance tried hard to recall yesterday's events, they were kicked out of his room and went to Keith's instead, they played cards and..

Passed out apparently.

He rubbed his temple groaning at the throbbing headache, what time is it? Lance moved his hands around himself to find his phone, finding it in his pocket, he pulls it out: 

 

**9:30**

 

Lance stared at the screen blankly before he shrieked, jumping from the bed “holy fuck I'm so late!!!”  he could hear a frustrated groan behind him, marking that Keith was awake now too

“Why are you yelling…” Keith mumbled, rubbing his eyes lazily  “ it's nine thirty! I'm late for class!” Lance ran into the bathroom without asking permission and began splashing his face with cold water 

“Wait… what?!” now Keith was shrieking, jumping into the bathroom shortly after Lance “ it's all your fault!! It was your suggestion to play games!!” Keith complained, smearing toothpaste on his toothbrush clumsily 

“What! You were the one to suggest it!” Lance yelled back, wiping his face and checking himself in the mirror, oh god he's so late for Lotor's class, he will kill him.

“You were the one to ask for that stupid rematch!! why couldn't you admit that you lost at rock paper scissors?”  Keith's yell was muffed by the toothbrush in his mouth, he spat out and washed his mouth quickly, pushing past Lance to wipe his face 

“because I didn't lose!!” 

They didn't even bother to change their clothes, both heading for the door instead 

“Oh, good morning” Shiro's startled expression shone through the doorstep at the second they opened the door, he eyed the couple, staring at their wrinkled clothes and Keith's messed up hair, suddenly blushing

“Oh my God- did you guys??” Keith went pale, that's right, Shiro thought they were crushing- 

Lance  jumped past him “ sorry Shiro! Can't talk  right now! I'm super duper late for class!” and so he ran for his dear life, hoping that he will get in time for the second period.

  
  


**Lotor is a mean nugget**

 

**Drop dead gorgeous:** See you guys at my funeral, because Lotor is going to strangle me

**Spicy boi:** where you at? I will help him.

**Not today Satan:** farewell my dear friend, can I take all your manga copies?

**Drop dead gorgeous:** hell no, you don't deserve them.

**Not today Satan:** die then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!  
> TBH i got a lot of inspiration for this fic from popular musicals, mostly Be More Chill and heathers, i wonder if that's noticable?  
> if not, try singing ( in slow motion) "christine~" each time shiro turns up, i find it very amusing  
> if you're not familiar with Be More Chill i highly suggest you listen to the song " more than survive" it really catches Keith's character ( as jeremy) in this fic :3

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading this silly story! i am a quick writer so updates will come quickly  
> hope you enjoyed this chapter and will stay for more!  
> also i made a little play list of the songs that inspired me and set me in the mood for this fanfiction, here's a link if you are interested:  
> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYUD-tTi12rKp5QCGatyuZFrtZm5ERTv3


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